Box Score - Auburn 75, South Alabama 70 (,pdf)

AUBURN, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team rallied from a couple of double-digit deficits and  made it a one-possession game with under a minute to play Thursday evening but couldn’t come up with the offensive rebound it needed as Auburn held on to capture a 75-70 victory at Auburn Arena.

“I thought there were periods of time where Auburn just showed their superiority from a physical standpoint,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.   Auburn out-muscled us the last two or three minutes of the first half, which made a close game an 11-point game at the half.  In the second half, I really think our players responded and fought back very hard.  We were a much more courageous and physical team in the second half.  With the exception of a couple singular breakdowns, two of them at the free throw line where we just weren’t physical enough, I thought we did everything we could to give ourselves a chance to win.  We just didn’t do enough unfortunately.”

USA (3-4) will now return home to host Ole Miss on Sunday.  Tip-off is set for 4:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. With the win, The Lady Tigers improve to 3-4 on the season.

Making her first start in a Jaguar uniform, Taylor Ammons led all scorers with a career-high 17 points for South Alabama on 8-of-16 shooting.  Along with Mary Nixon, Ammons also pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Jags on the glass.  Of her 17 points, 13 came after the intermission and sparked the USA offense early in the second half.

“Taylor is a physical, tough kid who is a great athlete and has been a great addition to our program,” Pietri added.  “We look forward to her making those types of contributions throughout the rest of the season.”

Christian Shelter added 11 points and Sarda Peterson finished with 10 for South Alabama.

The Tigers placed four players in double-digits, led by Alli Smalley’s 15 points.  Smalley was followed by Jassany Williams (13), Jordan Greenleaf (11) and Morgan Toles (10.  Greenleaf led all players on the glass with nine rebounds.

Two key areas in the game came at the free throw line and in points off the bench.  Auburn was 19-of-28 at the foul line, while USA was just 9-of-13.  The Tiger bench also outscored the South Alabama’s reserves 33-14.

As a team, South Alabama did manage to shoot a season-high 50.9 percent from the field on 27-of-53 shooting.  The Lady Jags  were also 7-for-12 from the arc. 

Auburn did most of its damage early inside early as 10 of the Lady Tigers first 18 points came inside the paint.  With just over 13 minutes to g0, Parrisha Simmons put AU out in front 18-13 with four-straight free throws.

Over the next three and a half minutes, South Alabama tightened its defense, holding the Tigers scoreless during that stretch.  USA took advantage of the Auburn drought and after layup from Siedah Banks, Peterson knocked down a deep three-pointer from the top of the key.  On South Alabama’s next possession, Peterson drained an even deeper trey to give the Lady Jags their first lead since early in the contest.

Tied at 25-25 after a pair of free throws from Mansa El at the 6:25 mark, Auburn regained the momentum, rattling off six-straight points and extended its lead out to 31-26.  Simmons hit one of her two opportunities at the charity stripe to start the scoring and then Williams recorded three-straight buckets to give AU the six-point advantage with five minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the opening half.  During the first 20 minutes of play, Williams came off the bench to lead all scorers with 10 points, hitting all but one of her five attempts. 

 The Lady Jags battled back and cut the deficit to 31-30 at the 4:20 mark after a three-pointer from El and a Mary Nixon tip-in , but from that point on, USA would miss its next two shots and turn the ball over three times to finish the half.

Auburn closed the half strong with an 11-1 run over the final four-plus minutes.  Tyrese Tanner came off a screen for an uncontested layup to begin the run for the Tigers and Blanche Alverson then drained a trey of her own with two minutes, 39 seconds on the clock.  A minute later, Alverson followed that up with another bucket and then after a Greenleaf basket, Alverson drained a jumper in the lane with time winding down in the first half to send AU into the locker room holding a 42-31 advantage.  All seven of Alverson’s points came during the run to close the half.

South Alabama shot the ball well during the first half, hitting 11 of its 25 attempts for 44 percent shooting, but turned the ball over 10 times and gave up 10 offensive rebounds that the Tigers converted into 11 second-chance points.  Doing most of its damage inside the paint, Auburn was 16-for-36 from the field for 44.4 percent.  The 42 points allowed by USA were a season-high for an opponent versus the Jags this year.

Facing its largest half time deficit of the year, USA quickly closed the gap, opening the second period of play on a 10-0 run.  The Lady Jags attacked the paint to spar the run with Ammons leading the way.  The junior post player recorded eight  of South Alabama’s points and her jumper in the lane with 16 minutes to go on the clock pulled the Jags to within one (42-41).  Greenleaf’s bucket with just under 15 minutes on the clock ended the Jaguar run and was the Tiger’s first field goal of the half.  After trading buckets, Shelter’s 12-foot jumper at the 14:03 mark put USA back out in front, 45-44

A little over a minute later, Banks drove lane and found Ronneka Robertson open in the paint for a layup to give USA a two-point advantage.  However, Auburn answered right back retook the lead with seven unanswered points.  Williams hit one of her two attempts at the line to cap off the scoring and put Auburn up 52-47 at the 10:27 mark of the second period of play. 

USA kept fighting and pulled to within two twice over the next few minutes, the last coming on an Ammons free throw at the 7:30 mark, but over the next three minutes, the Jags made some costly mistakes and allowed the Tigers to extend their lead back out to double-figures with a 10-2 spurt.  During the run, Smalley recorded seven points for Auburn, including a huge three-pointer of a free throw miss. 

AU looked to be in complete control following Toles basket with four minutes, 29 seconds remaining in regulation that game the Tigers the 67-57 advantage, but Brittney Rutledge’s three-pointer on the ensuing possession provided a spark for the Jaguars.

Down the stretch, South Alabama clawed its way back and got within one possession twice during the final minute.  With 27 seconds on the clock, Banks jumper in the lane narrowed the deficit to 73-70.  Forced to foul, USA sent Jennings to the foul line for a pair, who missed both.  South Alabama was unable to come up with the rebound though and with seven seconds to go, Greenleaf knocked down her two attempts at the charity stripe to seal the victory for the Tigers.

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: Junior forward Cylenthia Kennon had her streak of 36-straight starts ended as she missed the game versus Auburn with a shoulder injury.  Her status is listed as day-to-day.  Taylor Ammons made her first start for South Alabama in the absence of Kennon.