Box Score - UALR 73, South Alabama 54 (.pdf)    

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sun Belt Conference West Division champ and top-seeded UALR shot 56.6 percent (30-of-53) from the field as the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team saw its season come to a close with a 73-54 loss to the Trojans in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Championship Sunday afternoon at Summit Arena.

”UALR is a really good team and Joe (Foley) does a good job with them, South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “They came in with a good plan. I thought our plan was okay too. Our kids just didn’t execute it as well as they did. They had the advantage they didn’t play yesterday. We didn’t earn that. We had to play to get here and that is that.”
   
With the loss, USA ends the season with a 17-13 record, while UALR improves to 21-7 and advances on to the semifinal round where it will take on the winner of the Florida International at 2:15 p.m. on Monday. 

Chastity Reed – the reigning player of the year in the Sun Belt – led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting.  The senior also dished out eight assists and pulled down six rebounds. 

“(Chastity) Reed presents so many problems for you because she plays the post position and plays it as a guard,” Pietri said.  ”In their offense you have to account for her like a guard and not like a post. That is very difficult for a post to have to cover. To guard her effectively takes a lot of energy. In the second half, we tried to extend and make it harder but she did a nice job cutting behind. We didn’t do a nice job off the ball of being where we need to be.”

Asriel Rolfe added 18 points and six assists of her own, while Marion Kursh chipped in with 10 points.  Shankia Butler also had a solid afternoon, finishing with 11 assists, seven points and four steals.  As a team, UALR had 26 assists on their 30 made field goals. 

Playing in her final game in a Jaguar uniform, Christian Shelter led South Alabama with 18 points.  The senior was a perfect 9-of-9 at the foul line in the loss.  USA posted one of its best performances at the charity stripe versus the Trojans as the Jags were 18-for-21.  Also finishing in double digits was junior guard Sarda Peterson with 11 points.  USA’s other two seniors – Siedah Banks and Brittney Rutledge – ended their careers with nine and five points, respectively. 

UALR got off to a quick start in the contest, scoring on each of its first three possessions and took a five-point lead three minutes in on a three-pointer from Rolfe.

South Alabama’s offense early on was led by a pair of seniors – Brittney Rutledge and Christian Shelter – who combined for all nine of the Lady Jags’ first points.  Rutledge’s trey from the left wing with just under 14 minutes remaining in the half trimmed the deficit to just two at 11-9. 

The Jags were able to keep the deficit at two over the next several minutes, but holding a 17-15 lead with just over 10 minutes on the clock, the top-seeded Trojans were able to stretch out their lead out to double figure.  Reed began an 11-2 run for UALR with a jumper, one of her six made baskets in the first stanza.  Taylor Ford later capped off the run when the freshman guard drove the right side of the lane and converted the conventional three-point play, giving the Trojans a 28-17 lead at the 2:59 mark.

USA didn’t help its cause during the Trojan run as it missed all four of its shots from the field and turned the ball over four times during that four minute stretch.  Shelter stopped the run with a layup, but UALR would close the final three minutes strong.

Rolfe – who had 10 first-half points – took over the scoring for the Trojans closing out the first period of play with seven of UALR’s final nine points, including a layup just before the horn sounded to send the Trojans into the locker room with a 37-22 lead.  Rolfe was 4-of-7 from the field in the first half, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers. 

Reed led all scorers over the first 20 minutes of play with 12 points, while Shelter paced the Lady Jags with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. 

The Trojans were very efficient in the first half as they hit 17 of their 32 attempts from the floor for 53.1 percent.  South Alabama was just 8-for-24 in the first half for 33.3 percent.

Taylor Ammons kept USA in the game over the opening minutes of the second half as the junior forward recorded the Jaguars’ first six points to open the period, her last pulling South Alabama within 12 (40-28) with nearly 17 minutes remaining in regulation.  However, that was as close as the Trojans would let USA get the rest of the way as they extended their lead out to as much as 23 over the next seven minutes.  Rolfe gave UALR the 55-32 lead with her third trey of the game, this one coming at the 9:25 mark,

From there,  South Alabama struggled to slow the Trojans down as UALR finished the half shooting 61.9 percent.  The Trojans hit 13 of their 21 attempts from the field in the second period and went on to take the 19-point 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).