Game Notes: Game 19 vs. Florida International (.pdf)


MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team will look to pick up its third-straight Sun Belt Conference victory on Saturday when the Lady Jags host fellow East Division foe Florida International.

Tip-off versus the Panthers is set for 5:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center and with be the first game of a double header with the men’s teams.  Live stats and video can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com. 

After not having played in a week, South Alabama comes into this weekend’s Sun Belt match up versus Florida International with an 11-7 overall mark and a 3-3 record in league play.   USA evened its SBC record last Saturday when the Lady Jags defeated Louisiana-Monroe 78-54 in Mobile.

Christian Shelter and Taylor Ammons led the way for the Jags in the victory as each finished the night with a double-double.  Shelter posted a season-high 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Ammons added 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Ammons leads the team and ranks fourth in the SBC on the glass with 8.8 boards per game.

Shelter, who paces the club with 12.7 ppg, has been one of the top three-point shooters in both the conference and the nation.  She leads the SBC in treys per game (2.4) and also ranks fifth in the conference in three-point percentage.  She is connecting on 42.2 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc, 38th in the latest NCAA rankings.

Junior guards Lauren Walker and Sarda Peterson have been just as effective leading the Jaguars’ long-range attack.  Coming into play this weekend, Walker leads the Sun Belt with a 45.6 percent clip from the three-point line, while Peterson is seventh in that same category at 40.6 percent.  Along with Shelter, the duo also ranks in the top 10 of the league in threes per game.  As a club, USA leads the league in both categories, while ranking among the national leaders in treys per game (8.0, 10th) and three-point shooting (37.4, 13th).

The Lady Jags have also been solid at the defensive end of the floor.  USA is allowing just 55.9 points per game to its opponents - second in the SBC, while leading the league in field goal percentage defense (35.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (22.7).  The latter category is second-best in the nation.

Florida International enters the game versus USA a game back of the Lady Jags in the SBC East Division standings with a 7-13 overall mark and a 2-4 record in the league. 

“To look at FIU and judge them by their record would be a major mistake for anyone as we know from first-hand experience losing down there,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri.  “They are exceptionally well coached and they run a very effective matchup zone defense.  Offensively, they have a number of different players who are capable of making plays from both inside and outside the arc.  This is a good basketball team and we are going to have to play with the same level of sharpness and concentration that we have had the previous two games in order to have a chance to be successful.”

In their last game, the Panthers dropped a 54-45 decision at home to West Division leader UALR.  FIU held the Trojans to 13 first-half points and led by five at the intermission, but UALR outscored the Panthers 41-27 in the second half en route to the nine-point victory. 

True freshman Jerica Coley has made a huge impact on the Panther line up as she leads the team in several different categories - points (15.5), rebounds (6.4) and steals (38).  Coley’s points per game average is also fifth-best in the SBC, while at 5-7, she also ranks 12th in the league in rebounding.

Also averaging double figures for FIU is junior guard Rakia Rodgers.  Rodgers, who played her freshman season at Hofstra University, has bounced back after suffering an injury-plagued first season with the Panthers.  Rodgers is close behind Coley with 13.9 points per outing.  She is also pulling down 4.5 boards per game - fourth on the team.

Senior point guard Michelle Gonzalez has also been solid for FIU.  She is third on the team with 10.4 ppg, but her biggest contribution as been directing the point where she is averaging 4.2 assists and nearly two steals per game.  Just six games back after suffering a knee injury prior to the start of the season, preseason all-SBC selection Elisa Carey is starting to return to for, averaging 6.7 ppg and 5.3 rpg.

As a team, FIU ranks first in the SBC in blocks, second in free-throw shooting and third in three-pointers per game.

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:  Saturday’s game against Florida International will be the 24th in the all-time series.  FIU holds a 13-10 advantage in the series, but USA has won six of the last nine meetings.  Pietri is 9-8 against the Panthers during his tenure with the program and 4-5 in games played in Mobile.  This year, FIU captured the first meeting of the season, picking up a 48-43 victory in Miami, which snapped a four-game win-streak in the series in Miami for the Lady Jags.  The meeting between Pietri and Florida International head coach Cindy Russo will be the 18th between the two coaches.  Pietri holds a 9-8 advantage in those meetings.  All 17 of the previous meetings have come at both coaches’ current schools.