HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The University of South Alabama women's basketball team led by as many as 21 in the second half, but held off a furious rally by Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday afternoon and picked up an 82-76 victory at Summit Arena and advance in the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
"Two years ago we played Louisiana-Lafayette in the tournament after beating them handedly at home," South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. "We struggled, but did win. Last year, they gave Troy all they could handle just seven days after Troy had beaten them by 40. I expected them to fight us extremely hard today and they did. At the end of the day, there's the cliché about surviving and advancing. Today, we survived, and we advanced. Clearly, the last five or six minutes didn't go the way we would have liked it too, but at the end of the day we did make enough free throws and plays to finish the game and we get to play again."
The sixth-seeded Jaguars even their record to 15-15 with the win and will advance to the quarterfinal round to face third-seeded Western Kentucky on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on the Convention Center Court.
Christian Shelter led South Alabama offensively with 20 points. She was 8-of-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from the three-point line. Shelter was also just one rebound shy of recording her first career double-double, finishing with nine rebounds. Two more Jags also finished the contest with new career-highs, as Morriah Smith had 17 points and Cylenthia Kennon added 12. Kennon also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
ULL's Alexis Green paced all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Mercedes Johnson (14) and Jasmine Barnes (10) also recorded double figures for the Ragin' Cajuns. Barnes dished out a game-high six assists.
Shelter got the Jags off to a great start during the first four minutes of play, recording 11 of USA's first 13 points for an eight-point advantage. The junior forward did an excellent job of mixing things up during the run, connecting both inside and outside the arc.
Like in the first meeting, ULL's Johnson - the Cajuns leading scorer - got into early foul trouble, picking up two quick fouls and sitting the rest of the first period.
USA took advantage of Johnson's absence. Holding an 18-12 lead with 12:42 remaining on the clock, South Alabama went on another run over the next five minutes to grab a 15-point advantage. Nettles ignited the 11-2 spurt with a three-pointer from the left wing. Later in the run, Brittney Rutledge put USA up 29-14 when the junior knocked down a jumper in the lane at the 7:22 mark.
The Ragin' Cajuns came right back though narrowed the deficit to single-digits (29-20) with six unanswered points, the last two coming on a Lyndra Bell jumper.
The momentum didn't stay long with Louisiana-Lafayette, as USA quickly rattled off eight-straight points over the next three minutes to increase its lead to 17 (37-20) with under two minutes to go before the half. Rutledge got things started with another jumper and then Siedah Banks and Smith drained back-to-back treys to extend the Jaguar advantage.
Coming out of the locker room with a 13-point lead, South Alabama kept control over the first five minutes and eventually stretched its lead out to 51-34 on a triple for Smith with 14:41 to go. Three minutes later in the half, the Jags grabbed their largest lead of the afternoon at 21. Kennon pulled down one of her four offensive rebound and put the ball back in the basket and then Sarda Peterson drained a three-pointer from the left wing to give USA a 58-37 advantage.
With less than seven minutes left in regulation, South Alabama still maintained a comfortable 18-point lead, but from that point on Louisiana-Lafayette began its rally attempt.
ULL turned up the defensive pressure and Barnes intercepted a Jaguar pass and then found Bell open under the basket for a layup. After a jumper from Amy Richard and a conventional three-point play from Jamie Gunter, Nicole Morris knocked down a trey from the left wing to pull the Ragin' Cajuns within 69-59 at the 4:13 mark.
South Alabama looked as if it were going to retake control, pushing the lead back out to 12 on a couple of occasions, but Louisiana-Lafayette kept battling and trimmed the Jaguar lead to four (80-76) on a three-pointer from Johnson with 16 seconds remaining. That was as close as USA would allow the Ragin' Cajuns to get as the Jags held on for the six-point victory.
The Jags didn't record a field goal the last four minutes of the game, but managed to hit 13 of their 16 attempts at the charity stripe to preserve the 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: Prior to the game, South Alabama's Siedah Banks, Shaniece Brunner, Cylenthia Kennon, Brittney Rutledge and Morriah Smith were each named to the Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll. Both Morriah Smith (17) and Cylenthia Kennon (12) recorded new career-highs in the victory. Kennon also set a new career-best with 11 rebounds. With the win, USA will advance out of the first round to the quarterfinals for the fifth-straight season. The Jags also improve their series record to 29-10 overall and 2-0 in SBC Tournament action. In first round tournament games, South Alabama is now 6-3. USA will face Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Sunday for the third time in the program's history. The Lady Toppers defeated South Alabama 83-68 at the 2006 SBC Tournament quarterfinal round - the last time the two clubs met in the league tournament.
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