Game 18 - vs. Florida International Game Notes (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – Riding a season-best four-game win streak, the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team returns home to welcome Florida International on Wednesday night.
Tip-off between the Lady Jags and the Panthers is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.
South Alabama enters the contest after improving to 11-6 and 4-1 in the Sun Belt with a 53-46 victory over Troy on Saturday. With the win, USA moved into second place in the East Division.
During their current winning streak, senior guard Sarda Peterson has been instrumental as she has led the way offensively. The preseason all-conference selection has returned to form during the past two weeks, averaging 16.8 points per game during that span and shooting 15-of-27 (.556) from beyond the arc. She has also been deadly at the foul line converting all 12 of her opportunities. After posting back-to-back 23-point games this past week, Peterson was named the SBC’s Player of the Week.
With her recent play, she has raised her season average to 10.4 ppg - second on the club and tied for 18th in the league. Her 33.3 three-point shooting percentage is 11th-best in the conference, while her 2.2 treys per game are second.
One other Lady Jag playing well since the start of Sun Belt action has been fellow senior Taylor Ammons. In league action, Ammons has been strong underneath the glass for USA, pulling down 10.6 rebounds a game in those five contests. In those games, she has finished in double figures twice, just missing it two other times with nine rebounds. She leads the team and is tied for second with UALR’s Marian Kursh with 8.4 rpg this season.
Junior guard Mary Nixon has also played well since the start of league play, averaging 11.2 points per outing and recording double figures in three of her last four games.
As a team, USA continues to lead the league in scoring defense (56.5 ppg) and is tied with FIU in field-goal percentage defense. South Alabama is second in three-pointers per game with 6.5.
Florida International comes into the game versus the Lady Jags fresh off a 78-48 road win at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. With the win, FIU improved to 12-6 on the year and 2-3 in the league. The win was also the Panthers’ fifth in their last six games. Two of FIU’s three conference losses have come to undefeated and East Division leader Middle Tennessee.
Against the Ragin’ Cajuns, Jerica Coley and Fanni Hutlassa led the way with 22 and 21 points, respectively. As a team, FIU shot 55 percent from the floor. The Panthers not only lead not only lead the league in field-goal percentage, shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, but also pace the Sun Belt in scoring (66.5), free-throw shooting (.778), rebounding defense (33.9), blocks (5.1) and are tied with South Alabama in field-goal percentage defense (.368).
Individually, Coley - a preseason first-team all-SBC selection - is making a strong push for player of the year honors as the 5-7 sophomore leads the league in scoring (25.0 ppg), blocks (2.4) and minutes played (39.1). She also ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in rebounds (tied-seventh - 7.6), field-goal percentage (ninth -.476), assists (third - 4.8), free-throw shooting (third - .864), three-pointers per game (tied - seventh - 1.4) . Nationally, Coley is second in scoring, trailing only Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne. She also ranks among the NCAA leaders in rebounds, assists, blocks, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage and assist/turnover ratio.
“First of all, Florida International) has Jerica Coley, who not only is ranked second in the nation in scoring, but is also ranked nationally in assists, rebounds, blocked shots and field-goal percentage. She’s a complete player,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “I think that it’s safe to say, that as to this point in the season, she is having the best year of any player in our league. If she were the whole team, they would be easier to manage, but that is far from the truth. As a team, they rank 12th in the nation in field-goal percentage out of 336 Division I programs. This is a team that offensively, is very efficient. They are also coached by a woman in Cindy Russo who has won over 600 games. They were prohibitively picked to finish second in the division in the preseason. This is a great test for us and hopefully it’s one that we will be able to meet with the right amount of focus and attention that it deserves.”
Coley is not the only offensive weapon for the Panthers as Hutlassa (13.9 ppg) and Finda Mansare (11.3 ppg) are also averaging double figures. The duo ranks 11th and 16th, respectively, in the Sun Belt in that category. Hutlassa is also among the league leaders in rebounding (6.7), field-goal percentage (.495), assist (2.3), free-throw shooting (.750) and steals (2.0). Against ULL, she also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career.
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 Florida International will be the 25th in the all-time series. FIU holds a 13-11 advantage in the series, but USA has won seven of the last 10 meetings. South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri is 10-8 against the Panthers during his tenure with the program and 4-5 in games played in Mobile. The meeting between Pietri and Florida International head coach Cindy Russo will be the 19th between the two coaches. Pietri holds a 10-8 advantage in those meetings. All 18 of the previous meetings have come at both coaches’ current schools. Pietri is three wins shy of eclipsing the 200-win plateau and four wins shy of capturing his 10th Sun Belt Conference victory. Over USA’s last four games - all Lady Jag victories – Sarda Peterson is 15-of-27 (.556) and averaged 16.8 ppg. She is 24 three-pointers away from tying Stephanie Richardson’s program mark of 175.
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