Box Score - Southern Miss 67, South Alabama 62 (.pdf)
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss hit five of its last six free-throw attempts in the final minute-and-a-half as the Golden Eagles as the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team dropped a 67-62 decision Sunday afternoon at the Reed Green Coliseum.
“Right now our team has kind of lost the concept of what it takes to win,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “We aren’t finishing and we have been a terrible first-half team all year. Today exemplified that as we are now one and 10 in the first half of games. I’ve got to find a way to fix it and I’m searching. People we are counting on making plays for us just aren’t making them. All we can do is continue to work and try to get better and try to improve ourselves. We have one more game before the conference season begins and hopefully we can find a way to make something positive happen.”
USA (7-4) will next head to Huntsville, Texas to take on Sam Houston State on Tuesday with tip-off set for 2 p.m. at the Bernard Johnson Coliseum. The contest versus the Bearkats will be the last game for the Lady Jags until after the Christmas break.
South Alabama placed three players in double figures in the defeat led by Mansa El’s 16 points. El was 6-of-16 from the floor, recording her eighth double-figure scoring game in her last nine. Mississippi native, Taylor Ammons posted her fifth-career double-double and third of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Ammons has now recorded a double-double in two of her last three outings. Camille Reynolds also came off the bench to chip in with 11 points.
Southern Miss, which improved to 4-6 on the season, was led by the duo of Tanecka Carey and Jamierra Faulkner, who combined for 46 of the Golden Eagles’ 67 points. Carey registered a season-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She was also 4-for-7 from outside the arc and also added seven rebounds in the win. Faulkner was just as good for USM as she finished the afternoon with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, while also adding eight assists, eight rebounds and five steals.
As a team, the Golden Eagles connected on 24 of their 54 attempts from the floor for 44.4 percent shooting. USM was also 7-for13 from beyond the three-point line.
After struggling in the first half and shooting just 26.5 percent, the Lady Jags were much better in the second period, hitting 43.8 percent of their attempts (14-of-32) and ending the game at 34.8 percent.
Southern Miss held a 28-22 advantage in the paint and a 22-16 margin in points off turnovers, while USA’s bench outscored the Golden Eagle reserves 21-8.
Tied at 9-9 after a Jennifer Johnson bucket at the 15:01 mark of the first half, Southern Miss’ Carey would ignite a 13-2 run for the Golden Eagles over the next five minutes. The junior guard knocked down back-to-back buckets and then Ance Celmina drained a three-pointer from straight away at the 12:39 mark. After a layup from Faulkner and a pair of Celmina free throws, Faulkner intercepted a Jaguar pass around midcourt and raced down the floor for another layup with 10 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the period to give Southern Miss a 22-11 advantage.
USA didn’t help its cause during the USM run as the Lady Jags were just one of six from the floor and turned the ball over three times.
Over the remainder of the opening half, USA would continue to battle back and narrowed the deficit to 26-20 with just under six minutes to go in the period after a pair of free throws from Johnson.
USM would again push its lead back out to 11 at 31-20 after an old-fashioned three-point play from Faulkner with a little of four minutes showing on the clock. Faulkner led all scorers in the first 20 minutes of play with 14 of her 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
South Alabama’s defense would tighten the rest of the way and hold the Golden Eagles scoreless for the remainder of the half. Following the Faulker bucket and bonus shot, El found Mary Nixon open for a jumper in the paint at the 3:55 mark to begin a string of six unanswered points for USA. On South Alabama’s next possession, Sarda Peterson threw over the Southern Miss defense and found Ammons, racing to the basket. Ammons gathered in the pass from Peterson and laid the ball off the glass for an easy bucket. Four possessions later, El did the scoring for the Jaguars, knocking down a 12-foot jumper with one minute, 33 seconds reaming in the period to trim the Southern Miss lead to 31-26. That is where the score would remain as the two clubs headed into the locker room with Southern Miss holding a five-point advantage.
While USA struggled offensively during the first period of action, Southern Miss was 13-of-28 from the floor for 46.4 percent shooting.
Peterson – who had been held scoreless in the first half – began the scoring for USA in the second with a baseline pull up jumper on the Jaguars’ second possession of the half. With just under 17 minutes showing on the clock, El then brought USA to within one at 34-33 when she converted all three of her free throw opportunities after being fouled while attempting a three.
However, USM reeled off five of the next six points and extended its lead back out to seven (41-34) when Faulkner knocked down a trey at the 15:29 mark of the second half.
Lady Jags again battled back, rattling off seven-straight points of its own to tie the game up at 41-41. El found Ammons open for a jumper to begin the Jaguar run. Ammons’ basket was the result of the Lady Jags crashing the glass as on the possession, South Alabama pulled down four offensive boards before capitalizing. Reynolds then knocked down a three-pointer of her own with 14 minutes, 39 seconds remaining and on its next possession, USA tied the game up when Cylenthia Kennon found El open underneath the basket for a layup of her own with 13:43 to go in the second stanza.
Three minutes later, South Alabama claimed its first lead since the opening minutes of the game when Mary Nixon stole the ball and then knocked down a jumper at the 10:53 mark to put USA on top, 45-43.
With USA still leading by two after the two clubs traded three-pointers, the Golden Eagles were able to recapture the lead with an 8-0 run of its own. Faulkner began the scoring with steal and a jumper with just over 10 minutes to go. Carey then connected with one of her four three-pointers in the half and a layup at the 8:27 mark. Carey was on fire in the final period of play, registering 22 of her game-high 26 points in the frame. With 8:08 left in the game, Nitesha Pierce hit one of her two free-throw opportunities to give USM a 54-48 advantage.
The Golden Eagles led by as much as seven (57-50), but as they had all game, the Lady Jags kept fighting and turned to their defense to help them attempt to rally. With less than two minutes to play and Southern Miss still holding a 62-57 lead, Peterson hit one of her two free throws. On the inbounds, the Lady Jag defense forced Celmina to travel, giving USA possession of the ball. Peterson then found Johnson open for a jumper to trim the deficit to two. On the ensuing possession, the full-court pressure of South Alabama again forced Golden Eagles again turned the ball over on USA’s end of the floor. The Lady Jags again made Southern Miss pay for its miscue, as Peterson knocked down a jumper just past the free-throw line to tie the contest back up at 62-62 with one minute, 26 seconds to play.
South Alabama wouldn’t be able to take the lead though as the Jaguars missed their final three shots and turned the ball over twice
Following the basket from Peterson, Faulkner was fouled. The sophomore guard then gave USM the lead for good when she hit one of two at the charity stripe. In the final seconds, Carey then hit all four of her foul-shot attempts to give the Golden Eagles the final margin of 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: South Alabama now falls to 10-15 in the all-time series versus Southern Miss and 45-51 against Conference USA foes. Head coach Rick Pietri is now 7-2 against the Golden Eagles and 13-7 against C-USA competition. USM is 10-3 in the series versus the Lady Jags in games played in Hattiesburg. With the 31-26 halftime deficit, USA has now trailed at the intermission in 10 of its 11 games this season. With her 16 points, USA’s Mansa El has now recorded double figures in eight of her last nine games. With her 12 points and 11 rebounds, Taylor Ammons posted her fifth-career and third double-double of the season. She has now had a double-double in two of her last three games.
-- USA --
