Box Score - South Alabama 72, Louisiana-Lafayette 68 (.pdf)

LAFAYETTE, La. – Sarda Peterson’s season-high 23 points helped lead the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team to a 72-68 Sun Belt Conference road victory Wednesday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.

Peterson was 6-of-11 from the field, including 5-for-8 from beyond the three-point line.  She was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, including four with under a minute to play to help the Lady Jags hold on and preserve the win.  The five treys were a season-best for Peterson and with them, she moves into a tie for second-place all-time with Shakira Nettles at USA on the program’s career three-pointer list.
    
USA (10-6, 3-1 SBC) will now travel to take on in-state rival Troy on Saturday evening at Sartain Hall. Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 5:15 p.m.  With the loss, Louisiana-Lafayette drops to 5-11 overall and 0-4 in the Sun Belt.

Also scoring in double figures for the Jaguars in the win were Taylor Ammons and Mary Nixon.  Ammons had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also pulled down 12 rebounds to give her her fifth double-double of the season and seventh of her career.  Nixon, who struggle for most of the game, finished the contest with 13 points, 11 of which came in the final seven minutes.

“The biggest thing we did tonight was survive,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “Louisiana-Lafayette came out from the beginning of the game focused and very intent on taking it to us and they did an excellent job.  Fortunately, we were able to make enough plays.  I thought Sarda Peterson played her best game of the season and came up big at times when we needed her.  Taylor Ammons came up big for us at times that we needed her to.  I think those two players were able to be our standing-post, if you will.  We were able to rely on them to make plays for us.  (Krystal) Motley for ULL was just unbelievable.  Even when we were able to get up and guard her, she was just making plays for them even when we had two and three players running at her.  We were able to survive.  It is a win and it counts.  All the credit goes to Louisiana-Lafayette for the fight that they brought to this game.”   

Krystal Motley led all scorers with a career-high 36 points on 16-of-28 shooting.  The senior was also 4-for-5 from behind the arc and pulled down six rebounds.  

The Lady Jags held a huge advantage at the foul line as they were 19-for-28, including 10-of-12 in the second half, while the Ragin’ Cajuns were just 7-for-12.

South Alabama was able to take an early three-point lead on three free throws, but Motley came out hot as the senior recorded ULL’s first nine points and helped the Ragin’ Cajuns take a 9-5 lead.  Her jumper in the lane with 15 minutes to go in first half capped off her early scoring and put ULL up by four.  

USA answered right back though with five-straight points to retake the lead at 10-9.  Mansa El knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key at 13:26 mark and then Cylenthia Kennon and Ammons added a free throw apiece to give the Lady Jags the one-point advantage.  

For nearly all of the rest of the first half, the two clubs would keep it close with neither able to take more than a two-point advantage on the other until the final two minutes.

With the contest all square at 29-29, USA was able to break the tie and close the half with six-unanswered points.  Peterson got things going when the senior guard from Ft. Myers, Fla., zipped a pass inside to a wide-open Veronica Cherizol for an easy layup with a minute, 32 seconds to go.  On South Alabama’s next possession, Breanna Hall was fouled in the corner while attempting a trey.  Hall would step to the line and convert two of her three bonus opportunities.  After another defensive stop with time winding down, Camille Reynolds found Ammons open underneath the bucket for another layup to send USA into the locker room with a 35-29 lead.

Ammons and Peterson provided the offense for the Lady Jags during the opening 20 minutes of action as the duo each posted 10 points apiece.  Ammons was 4-of-5 from the field in the half, while Peterson was 3-of-5 with two treys.  Motley led all scorers with 15 first-half points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Both teams shot the ball well in the first period, as Louisiana-Lafayette was 13-for-31 for 41.9 percent shooting and South Alabama was 11-for-27 for 40.7 percent.  USA’s lead could have been larger as the Jaguars were just 9-of-16 at the free throw line in the half.  

Like the first half, South Alabama came out struggling to find its offensive touch, beginning the period by missing its first nine shots and turning the ball over four times. During that time, ULL shook off some early struggles of its own and erupted for a 10-1 run to take a 39-36 lead.  Motley once again did most of the scoring for the Ragin’ Cajuns as she recorded seven of Louisiana-Lafayette’s first 10 points over the four-minute stretch.

Peterson briefly stopped the ULL run and tied the contest back up (39-39) with a three from left wing, USA’s first field goal of half.  

ULL comes right back though and took its largest lead of the evening at 46-41 on a conventional three-point play by Megan Whitaker with just over 11 minutes remaining.  

Peterson again had the answer as she came down on the ensuing Jaguar possession and nailed another big trey, this one from the top of the key.  

Later in the half with Louisiana-Lafayette holding a four-point advantage after another layup from Motley with nine-and-a-half minutes to go, Reynolds, who had been scoreless for the Lady Jags, hit a pull up jumper to ignite a run of six unanswered points for USA.   Kennon – who finished with five points of her own –then tied the game back up at 48-48 with a layup of her own after a Cajun turnover and Nixon put South Alabama back out in front 50-48 with a 10-foot jumper with just over seven minutes to go.

Nixon had been quiet up until that point, but her basket began a stretch in which the junior recorded eight of USA’s 10 points over a three-plus minute stretch.  Nixon at one-point even gave the Lady Jags a four-point possession when the Pensacola, Fla., native recorded a basket and then after missing her bonus free throw, grabbed her own rebound and laid the ball back off the glass to extend South Alabama’s lead out to 58-51 with four minutes, 22 seconds showing on the clock.

ULL continued to battle and with a little over two minutes to go, Motley drained a three-pointer with the Jaguar defense in her face from the top of the key.   Motley’s basket were the Ragin’ Cajuns’  first points in over four minutes and cut USA’s lead to six (60-54).

Peterson though came up with another clutch basket from deep on South Alabama’s next possession and connected on her fifth three-pointer of the night to push it back out to nine with one minute, 45 seconds left on the clock..

With the lead, USA was solid at the free-throw line, hitting nine of its 10 attempts.  The Lady Jags, however did commit some inopportune times, the last coming with 25 seconds.  Motley took advantage of the Jaguar miscue and hit her fourth trey of the game trimming South Alabama’s lead to two (70-68) with nine seconds to go.

ULL was forced to foul and Peterson – a preseason all-Sun Belt selection – hit both of her attempts at the charity stripe to seal the 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 improves to 32-10 in the all-time series and has now won eight straight.  Lady Jag head coach Rick Pietri is now 18-3 all-time versus the Ragin’ Cajuns.  With its six-point half time lead, USA has now led at the intermission in three of its four Sun Belt games.  The 23 points were a season-high for Sarda Peterson and where two points shy of tying her career-high.  The five three-pointers were a season-best as well and tied her with former Lady Jag Shakira Nettles for second on South Alabama’s career three-pointer list with 146. With her 15 points and 12 rebounds, Taylor Ammons recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the seventh of her career.  USA’s Mary Nixon has now recorded double figures in each of her last three Sun Belt games.  The 3-1 start is the best conference start for the Lady Jags since beginning the 2009-10 SBC schedule with six-straight wins. The 36 points were a new career-high for Louisiana-:Lafayette’s Krystal Motely.

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