TROY, Ala. - Siedah Banks pull up jumper with 27 seconds left in regulation proved to be the difference Saturday evening, as the University of South Alabama women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak and picked up a 59-57 Sun Belt Conference road victory Saturday evening at Trojan Arena.
"This was great team win for us tonight," South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. "We had a lot of people did a lot of positive things for us. Both teams really competed and we just happened to come out on top. We made some coaching decision late in the game and talked about what we wanted to do in some situations. Our players were able to execute those things down the stretch and we came up with a big turnover on one of those possessions. They got a decent look on the final shot, but it was challenged. Fortunately for us, it didn't fall."
USA (13-9, 8-3 SBC) will continue its two-game road swing on Wednesday when it heads to New Orleans to take on the Privateers. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at Lakefront Arena. With the loss, Troy falls to 11-9 on the season and 4-7 in the conference.
Banks finished the game with a team-high 14 points and was 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 at the charity stripe. The junior point guard also posted her first career double-double with 11 rebounds - all at the defensive end of the floor. Tashley Gaines - who was limited in the first half due to two quick fouls - also chipped in with 11 second-half points and Shakira Nettles added 10 points of her own.
Donette McNair recorded her seventh double-double of the season for the Trojans with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Alyce Shearing added 16 points. USA did a solid job defensively on Troy's leading scorer Brittnie Davis, limiting the senior guard to just five points. Davis had recorded 20-plus points in each of her last three games, prior to the loss to the Jags on Saturday.
South Alabama - which has struggled in the rebounding department for much of the season - out-rebounded the Trojans 44-39 - the first time the Jags had done so since their win over Western Kentucky back on Jan. 3. USA also held Troy to just eight offensive rebounds.
For the fourth game in a row, the Jags got off to a slow start during the opening minutes of the contest and allowed Troy to lead by as many as six in the first half. With the Trojans holding a 14-9 advantage after a Kristen Smith layup with less than 11 minutes to go, the South Alabama defense turned up its intensity. Following the Smith basket, the Jaguars held the Trojans scoreless for nearly the next eight minutes of the period. Over that stretch, Troy missed 11 shots and committed four turnovers.
USA capitalized and reeled off 13 unanswered points to take its largest lead of the half. Shaniece Brunner began the scoring for the Jags with an offensive put back after a missed three-pointer and with 7:06 remaining, Banks drove the lane for a layup and converted the conventional three-point play to give South Alabama its first lead since the opening bucket. Following a Vanessa Simmons' layup, Brunner hit one of her two opportunities at the foul line to put the Jaguar women up 22-14 with 3:19 left on the clock.
On the ensuing possession, Courtney Hawkins (Troy) was fouled and hit the first of two attempts at the line to end the scoreless streak for the Trojans. Troy was able to trim the deficit to three (22-19) with two quick baskets from Shearing and Hawkins, but Morriah Smith knocked down a jumper and Banks sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to send the Jags into the locker room holding the seven-point advantage, 26-19.
Troy didn't let the Jaguars hold momentum long coming out of the intermission, as the Trojans opened up the second period with a 10-2 run. Sophie Kleeman found Davis - who had been held scoreless over the first 20 minutes of play - cutting back door for a layup to trim the deficit to one and Shearing then drained an 18-foot jumper to put the Trojans back out in front 29-28 at the 16:52 mark.
A little less than two minutes later, it was Gaines turn to ignite the Jaguars, as the sophomore checked into the game and posted seven-straight points. Her three-point play with just under 14 minutes left in regulation gave USA a35-33 lead. Gaines then intercepted a Trojan pass and found Brittney Rutledge open for a jumper to extend the advantage.
"Tashley was in and out quick in the first half after picking up the two quick fouls, but in the second half, she responded and really put us on her shoulders for a stretch of time," Pietri said.
Following a layup by Kristen Smith, Rutledge drained a trey and two possessions later, Morriah Smith knocked down an eight-foot jumper in the lane to increase USA's lead to 42-35.
With South Alabama leading by six (47-41) with less than nine to go, it was the Trojan's turn to take advantage of an offensive drought by the Jags. Sarda Peterson's free throw at the 9:05 mark would be the last point USA would score over the next five minutes, 15 seconds.
Over that time, Troy was able to retake the lead. McNair began the Trojan come back with a jumper and later gave Troy the 49-47 lead with a layup with under five minutes to go.
"I have to credit Siedah for attacking the rim late," Pietri said. "She just got super aggressive down the stretch and used proper aggressiveness. There's a difference between being aggressive and being aggressive properly. She was properly aggressive, creating things for both herself and others."
With just over two minutes to go, Banks showed her aggressiveness to the basket and drove the left side of the floor for a layup. On the play, she was fouled and went to the line to convert the three-point play that gave USA a 56-53 lead.
The Trojans then went back inside, first to McNair who banked in another jumper - two of her 15 second half points - and Kristen Smith then laid the ball off the class to give Troy a 57-56 advantage with 42 seconds remaining on the clock.
On the Jaguars next possession though, Banks calmly took a couple of steps inside the arc and hit a 14-foot jumper to give USA the lead for good. Gaines came up with her third steal at the end of the floor and Nettle stepped to the foul line and hit one of her two attempts to stretch the lead out to two.
The Trojans still had a chance to tie at the end of regulation, but McNair's contested jumper as the final horn sounded was errant, giving South Alabama the 59-57 victory.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
NOTES: With the win, South Alabama improves to 10-1 in the series versus Troy under head coach Rick Pietri and 14-15 overall. The win also snapped a three-game losing streak for USA. The 11 rebounds by USA's Siedah Banks was a new career-high for the junior and with her 14 points she posted her first career double-double. All 11 of Tashley Gaines' points came in the second half, including seven-straight during a pivotal Jaguar run. The loss for the Trojans also marked the first time this season that they had lost a game in which Donette McNair recorded a double-double. Troy had been a perfect 6-0 in those games.
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