Box Score - Middle Tennessee 67, South Alabama 59

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team mounted a second-half rally Sunday afternoon versus Middle Tennessee, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Jags fell 67-59 to the Blue Raiders at the Mitchell Center.

“We struggled with Middle Tennessee’s contain press in the first half simply because we were scared.  We simply had too many kids who played scared and with the intimidation level that Middle Tennessee tries to enforce, we just fed that.  As a result, we put ourselves in a deep hole. In the second half, we really did not play fearfully and were more aggressive.  As a result we were rewarded.  We really didn’t turn the ball over hardly at all in the second half.  Unfortunately we just didn’t make enough offensive plays when we got shot opportunities.  Even with the lack of conversions, we were able chip away at the lead and get the deficit all the way down to seven.  If we would have responded better to start the game and come into the game with more of an air of confidence and aggressiveness to begin the game, I think we could have made it a one-possession game, but our fear early cost us.”

USA (8-6, 0-2 SBC) will now head out on the road for a pair of games beginning with Florida Atlantic on Wednesday evening.  Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at FAU Arena.

With the win, Middle Tennessee improves to 10-4 on the year and 1-0 in the conference.  MTSU also extends its win-streak in the series to 14 games. 

Christian Shelter led the Jaguars with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Sarda Peterson and Siedah Banks each finished with 11 points apiece.  For the second-straight game, South Alabama struggled to find its touch from the arc as the Jags were just 6-for-25 from the outside. 

Middle Tennessee was led offensively by Ebony Rowe and Ann Marie Lanning, who each recorded a game-high 26 points.  Rowe also added 16 rebounds and was 9-of-16 from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul for the Blue Raiders.  Lanning was also solid from the field, knocking down eight of her 11 attempts, including four treys.  She was also a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe.

Free throw shooting proved to be a key stat in the contest, as the Blue Raiders were 17-of-20 at the stripe, while South Alabama was just 13-for-22.  MTSU also held a huge advantage on the glass, pulling down 48 rebounds, compared to 32 from the Jags. 

Coming out of the first media time out in the first half with the Blue Raiders holding a two-point advantage (7-5), Middle Tennessee’s pressure defense sparked a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to stretch the Blue Raider lead out to 20-8.  Lanning capped off the scoring spurt and gave MTSU the 12-point advantage at the 11:03 mark when the senior guard intercepted a Jaguar pass and raced down the court for a layup.  During the run, the MTSU defense forced Lady Jags into committing five of their 13 first-half turnovers.

Over the first nine minutes the trio of Lanning, Rowe and Icelyn Ellie combined to record all of Middle Tennessee’s first 20 points.  The Blue Raiders came out on fire from the floor, connecting on nine of their first 10 shots from the floor.  USA on the other hand struggled against the Middle Tennessee pressure defense, hitting just four of its first 16 shots, including a 1-of-9 performance at the arc,

Shelter later knocked down a 16-foot pull up jumper with just under five minutes to go before the half to trim the deficit to 26-15, but Middle Tennessee rattled off eight unanswered points over the next minute and a half to stretch its lead out to 19 at 34-15.

Middle Tennessee took its largest lead of the half at 41-19 with over a minutes to go on the clock after a pair of Lanning free throws, but Lauren Walker nailed a three-pointer from the right wing as the intermission horn sounded to send USA into the locker room down 18 (40-22).

Both Lanning and Rowe had 15 points apiece for the Blue Raiders over the first 20 minutes of play.  Lanning was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, while Rowe was 6-of-9 from the floor.  MTSU also held a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding USA 21-10, including 16 on the defensive glass.

South Alabama, which entered as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, struggled to find its touch from the outside as USA was just 3-for-16 in the period.

Lanning continued her hot shooting to begin the second half as she worked her way free and came off a screen to knock down her fourth three-pointer of the game.  Following the Lanning trey though, Shelter sparked an 11-2 Lady Jag run to cut the deficit to 12 at 45-33.  The Mobile native recorded all but one of USA’s points during the run.

Shelter and Banks narrowed the deficit to 12 points with nine minutes remaining in the contest with three free throws, but Rowe came right back on the ensuing possession and sank a pair of free throws of her own after she was fouled.  Following the two free throws from Rowe, Elie and Rowe knocked down back-to-back baskets to push the Blue Raider lead back out to56-38 with seven minutes, 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

On South Alabama’s next possession though, Rutledge drove the lane for a layup that ignited a 10-0 run for the Jaguars over the next three minutes.  Peterson capped off the scoring for USA when she stole the ball and raced down the floor for a layup of her own to trim the Blue Raider lead to 56-48 at the 3:47 mark.

Needing a basket to halt the Jaguar run, Middle Tennessee went inside to its freshman, Rowe.  Over the next two possessions Rowe provided the offense for MTSU and didn’t allow the Jags to continue their run.  South Alabama was able to get as close as seven (66-59) on a Peterson trey from the left corner with 12 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Jags would get.

After turning the ball over 14 times in the first half, USA did a much better job of handling the Middle Tennessee pressure in the second half, only committing four turnovers.  The Jaguar defense also did a much better job in the final period of play, forcing the Blue Raiders into 13 turnovers.  After shooting 62.5 percent in the first half, South Alabama limited MTSU to just 27.6 percent shooting in the second half.

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).