Arkansas State 68, South Alabama 53 - Box Score (.pdf)

JONESBORO, Ark. – A cold offensive performance during the first half proved to be too much to overcome Thursday evening as University of South Alabama women’s basketball team fell 68-53 to Arkansas State at the Convocation Center in its Sun Belt Conference opener.

“On this evening, Arkansas State was the better team, period,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “I feel like they were better prepared and had more energy and desire to play.  Our kids didn’t have the right energy or the right level of concentration or focus. The season is a thing of flux.  It’s constantly flowing and doesn’t stay just one way.  There are still more games to play and we will see how our team responds.”

USA (8-5, 0-1 SBC) will now return home to take on Middle Tennessee.  Tip-off versus the Blue Raiders is set for Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.

Christian Shelter was the lone Lady Jag to end the night in double digits as she finished the contest with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while also adding eight rebounds.  Sarda Peterson and Brittney Rutledge each finished with eight points.  Taylor Ammons led USA on the glass with 11 boards, her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season.

ASU (8-6, 1-0 SBC) was paced offensively by Shay Scott, who posted her second-straight double-double, ending the contest with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds.  Also finishing in double figures for the Red Wolves were Jazmine Taylor and Shania Hurst, who each added 12 points. 

Two key categories for Arkansas State in the victory were in points in the paint and points off turnovers.  ASU out scored USA 40-22 in the post and forced 18 Lady Jag turnovers which led to 24 points.  South Alabama was only able to record four points off 14 Arkansas State turnovers.  The Red Wolves recorded 10 steals, eight of which came from Hurst.  

Both teams struggled to get their offensive games going on over the first 10 minutes of the contest.  Scott and Hurst provided all of the offense for the Red Wolves early on, combining for ASU’s first 14 points, while Shelter had seven of the Lady Jags’ first 11. 

Brittney Rutledge’s 14-foot jumper at the 12:43 mark trimmed the deficit to 12-11.  That basket however would be the last points for the Lady Jags over the next seven minutes. Holding the one-point lead with nine minutes to remaining in the opening period, South Red Wolves took advantage of the struggles from the Lady Jags.  Hurst ignited a 12-0 Arkansas State run with a jumper and Jazmine Taylor hit a wide-open Jane Morrill for a layup to cap off the scoring and put ASU up 24-11 three minutes later. 

Veronica Cherizol finally ended the scoring drought for South Alabama with a pair of free throws, but the Red Wolves held control the rest of the half and eventually stretched their lead out to as much as 17, before heading into the locker room with a 40-25 advantage.

Over the first 20 minutes of action, South Alabama struggled from the floor, hitting just nine of its 34 shots for 26.5 percent shooting, while Arkansas State was 16-for-37 for 43.2 percent.  The 40 points allowed were the most given up by USA in the first half since surrendering 42 at Auburn on Dec. 2.  The 26.5 percent shooting was also a season-low in the opening period of play for the Lady Jags.

Coming out of the intermission, Arkansas State never allowed USA to get into a rhythm and kept the deficit at around the 15 point mark for much of the first seven minutes of the period.  Leading 54-37 with 11 minutes, 13 seconds remaining on the clock, Morrill’s three-point play increased ASU’s advantage to 20 and then after buckets from Jasmine Taylor and Scott, the Red Wolves took their largest lead of the night at 61-37 with just under nine minutes to go. 

South Alabama chipped away at the ASU lead and tried to mount a late charge narrowing the deficit to 14 (63-49) following layups from Ammons and Peterson, but that was as close as the Lady Jags would get the rest of the way as the Red Wolves held on to pick up the 15-point victory. 

The Lady Jags bounced back and shot better during the second half of play, connecting on 12 of their 30 attempts for 40 percent, but they couldn’t come up with the necessary stops when they needed them.

USA, which entered as the top three-point shooting team in the Sun Belt, as well as one of the tops in the nation managed to hit just four of its 15 attempts from the arc.  The four three-pointers were tied for the second-lowest total this season and the fewest since recording four treys against Mississippi State back on Nov. 23.

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).