Game 13 - at Middle Tennessee Game Notes (.pdf)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After breaking for 11-days for the Christmas holidays, the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team will return to action and open up Sun Belt Conference action on the road against preseason East Division favorite Middle Tennessee.  

“The conference season and the non-conference season are truly separate things,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “When you get into conference play, you deal with a level of familiarity with opponents, coaching staffs, teams and players.  A team can have a great non-conference season and things can be different in conference play or a team can have a poor non-conference season and then do well when they get to conference play.  For us, it begins with a seriously challenging game.”  

Tip-off between the Lady Jags and the Blue Raiders is set for noon at the Murphy Center and will be televised by the Sun Belt Network.  The televised game will be the first of three this season on the SBN for the Lady Jags.  Live stats for the contest will also be available at www.usajaguars.com.  

South Alabama comes into its Sun Belt opener with a 7-5 overall record and is looking to snap a two-game skid.  Prior to breaking for Christmas, the Lady Jags dropped a pair of road contests, falling 67-62 at Southern Miss and then 53-50 at Sam Houston State.  The five losses for USA have come by an average of 7.6 with the last three being decided by a total of 13 points.  

Against Sam Houston State, South Alabama led by as much as much as 14 (24-10) with nine-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half, but USA would go ice cold and suffer a 13-minute scoreless streak.  The Lady Jags were able to rally back in the second half, but could not hold onto the lead as the Bearkats picked up the three-point victory.

Mansa El and Camille Reynolds continue to lead the club offensively as they are each averaging 11.7 points per game this season - which ranks 14th in the Sun Belt.  El has been the main offensive weapon over the last 10 games for the Lady Jags as she has scored double figures eight times during that stretch.  Against Sam Houston, El recorded just eight points.  She ranks fourth in the league in free throw shooting, fifth in three-pointers per game and 14th in three-point shooting.

Reynolds also ranks in multiple categories in the Sun Belt.  The junior guard is third in three-point shooting, hitting 39.5 of her attempts.  She is also tied for 10th in treys per game.  The Rathdrum, Idaho native had 10 points and four assists in her last outing versus the Bearkats.

Senior forward Taylor Ammons paces the club on the glass with 7.4 boards per game - tied for sixth in the conference.  She has led the team in rebounds in seven games this season and has posted a double-double in two of her last four games.

As a team, South Alabama leads the SBC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, three-pointers per game, rebounding offense, offensive rebounds and turnover margin, while also ranking in the top 3 of the league in scoring margin, assist-turnover ratio and defensive rebounds.

Middle Tennessee improved to 9-5 on the year Wednesday evening after upsetting sixth-ranked Kentucky in Murfreesboro.  The win over the Wildcats extended the Blue Raiders win-streak to three.  MTSU is already 1-0 this season in conference play, defeating Florida International 58-53 prior to breaking for Christmas.

“There are a couple of facts that dictate the challenges that Middle Tennessee presents,” Pietri said of Saturday’s opponent.  “They just beat the sixth-ranked team in the nation and that shows the quality of players that they have and the quality in which they are coached.”

Leading the charge offensively against the Wildcats was preseason all-SBC second-team selection Icelyn Elie  - who had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.  Elie is averaging 12.2 ppg this season – seventh in the SBC – and pulling down 7.2 rpg – tied for ninth in the league.  She is also shooting 46.0 percent from the floor – ninth best in the Sun Belt.

Preseason co-Sun Belt Player of the Year Ebony Rowe and Lexington, Ky., native also eclipsed the 20-point plateau against Kentucky posting her eighth double-double of the season and 24th of her career with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Rowe leads the league in rebounding with 10.3 boards per outing and ranks fourth in the conference with 16.6 points per game.  She also leads the Sun Belt in shooting, knocking down 54.7 percent of her attempts from the field.  Roe is also second in the conference with 2.5 spg.

Junior guard Kortni Jones is having a sold season thus far.  She ranks second on the club and seventh in the league in scoring with 15.8 ppg.  Jones has connected on 34.8 percent of her attempts from outside the arc - eighth in the Sun Belt - and leads the conference with 3.5 treys per game.

As a team, Middle Tennessee is one of the top defensive clubs in the SBC, leading the league in steals with 11.3 per game and ranking third in both scoring defense (59.1 ppg) and three-point field goal defense (.262).  MTSU limited Kentucky to just 2-of-18 shooting from outside the arc.

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: The meeting between South Alabama and Middle Tennessee will be the 21st meeting between the two programs in the all-time series.  The Blue Raiders hold a commanding 17-4 advantage in the series and have on 15-straight.  Pietri, USA is 2-16 in the series and 1-7 in Murfreesboro.  USA’s last win in the series came back during the 2002-03 season when the Lady Jags defeated the Blue Raiders 72-58 in Mobile.  The meeting between Pietri and Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Insell will be the 15th between the two coaches.  Insell has won all 14 of the previous meetings.  South Alabama holds an all-time mark of 15-12 in Sun Belt Conference openers on the road.  Pietri is 7-4 in road openers as well.  The Lady Jags have won six of their last eight road conference openers, with the only two losses during that stretch coming at Western Kentucky during the 2006-07 season and last season at Arkansas State.  
 
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