MOBILE, Ala. – Middle Tennessee’s Kortni Jones and Ebony Rowe combined for 38 of Middle Tennessee’s points Saturday evening as Middle Tennessee held off the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team 60-53 at the Mitchell Center.

Jones led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, while Rowe was 7-of-16 from the field for 18 points.  She also pulled down eight rebounds.  Icelyne Elie recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

“That’s the best team in our league,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “They’ve demonstrated to this point that they’re the best by a stretch. They’ve been averaging wins by 18 points per game. We gave a really good effort tonight; we just didn’t finish crucial plays that we had to finish. We didn’t finish some transition opportunities right under the rim and missed some wide-open three-point attempts. They’re an excellent rebounding team and, from a rebounding stand point, there were some that we didn’t get that could’ve ended pivotal possessions. I felt this game was winnable, but we didn’t make enough open shots and while I thought we were aggressive, we just weren’t able to get to the free throw line.”

Veronica Cherizol came off the bench to post a new career-best with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.  Mary Nixon was the only other Lady Jag to register double digits as she ended the night with 11 points.  Taylor Ammons led USA on the glass with nine rebounds.  She has now recorded nine boards or better in six of the Lady Jags’ seven conference games.

USA (11-8, 4-3 SBC) will now head out on the road to take on UALR on Wednesday.  Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 7 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.  With the win, Middle Tennessee (16-5, 8-0 SBC) extends its win streak to 10 games and remains in first place in the SBC East Division.

The Lady Jag bench held a huge advantage in the contest, outscoring the Blue Raider reserves 28-0.  However, of those 28 points, only eight came after the intermission. 

South Alabama which shot 50 percent in the first half, like its last game against Florida International, struggled in the final period of play, knocking down just 27.3 percent of its attempts (9-of-33).  For the game, the Jaguars were 21-for-57 from the floor for 36.8 percent.  MTSU shot over 40 percent in both halves and ended the night at 43.1 percent.

Tied at 4-4 early on, Middle Tennessee was the first to look to extend its lead as the Blue Raiders pushed across six-straight points.  Shanice Cason capped off the scoring spurt when she hit one of two of her attempts at the foul line to give MTSU a 10-4 advantage with 12 minutes, 40 seconds showing on the clock.

However, over the next five minutes, the Lady Jags bench would provide a spark as it led a 14-4 run during that stretch.  Ronneka Robertson and Walker began the run with layups.  After a jumper from Cherizol, Walker knocked down a 15-foot pull up jumper at the 10:35 mark to give USA its first lead of the game (12-11).  On Middle Tennessee’s next possession, Jones connected from the right wing to put the Blue Raiders back out in front, but Walker and Mansa El answered with a trey apiece on USA’s next two trips down the floor to extend the Jaguar advantage back out to 18-14 with under eight minutes remaining in the half.

USA maintained the lead over the next several minutes and Cherizol’s jumper at the 4:07 mark gave South Alabama a 23-20 lead, but the Blue Raiders came right back and answered with a 9-2 run of its own over the next four minutes to go back out in front 29-25 with under 30 seconds to play in the first half.  Elie began the run with a bucket at the three minute mark just before the shot clock expired. Jones then knocked down her second three-pointer of the period, this one from the left corner when she came off a screen and received a pass from Cason.  After another bucket from Cherizol, Rowe and Jones added a basket apiece in the final minute plus to give the Blue Raiders the four-point advantage. 

In the closing seconds, Cherizol – who had eight points off the bench in the period – drove the lane for another bucket to send USA into the locker room trailing by two (29-27).

South Alabama’s bench was key during the first 20 minutes of action as they recorded 20 of the Jaguars’ 27 points.  Cherizol and Walker combined for 15 of those points.

MTSU took advantage of 13 first-half turnovers by the Jags and convert them into 16 points.

Both teams shot the ball well in the first half as USA was 12-of-24 from the field (50 percent) and the Blue Raiders were 11-of-27 (40.7 percent).

The Blue Raiders began the second half with a layup from Rowe, but Mary Nixon answered with five-straight points for the Lady Jags.  Mansa El – who finished with nine points – gave USA a 33-31 lead at the 18:09 mark when the red shirt junior hit one of her two free throw attempts. 

The Jaguar lead would be short-lived though as MTSU ran of seven unanswered points over the next three-and-a-half minutes to retake the lead, 38-33.  Elie gave the Blue Raiders the five-point advantage when Cason found Elie racing down the court after a Jaguar miss.

El ended the run of unanswered points with a trey from the top of the key at the 14:15 mark that trimmed the deficit to 38-36.

Over the next three and a half minutes though, Rowe and Jones would combine for MTSU’s next 10 points and stretch the Blue Raider lead back out to 48-40 on a layup from Rowe at the 9:28 mark.  Rowe capped off the run and gave MTSU the eight-point lead with back-to-back buckets in the paint.

The USA bench again sparked the offense as Cherizol tied her career high with a put back with just under nine minutes remaining.  On South Alabama’s next possession, Camille Reynolds knocked down a jumper to trim the deficit to three at 50-47 with eight minutes, five seconds to go.

But Rowe and Jones again provided the scoring and extended the lead back out to 55-47 just over six minutes to go in the game.  Jones found Rowe open underneath for another layup at the 7:13 mark and then on the Blue Raiders next possession, Jones drained a trey from the left side of the floor on a second-chance opportunity.  The duo of Jones and Rowe combined to post 24 of the Blue Raiders 31 second-half points.

USA made one final push in the closing minutes narrowing MTSU’s lead to three at 56-53.  Cherizol knocked down a pair of free throws and then El connected from 10-feet away at the 1:44 mark. 

That was as close as South Alabama was able to get as Middle Tennessee held on to pick up the seven-point victory.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES:  With the loss, South Alabama falls to 4-19 in the all-time series and has now dropped 17-straight to the Blue Raiders.  The 12 points by USA’s Veronica Cherizol were a new career-best for the junior.  With her 11 points, Mary Nixon has now recorded double figures in four of her last six Sun Belt outings.  After pulling down nine rebounds against Middle Tennessee, Taylor Ammons has finished with nine rebounds or better in six of the Lady Jags’ conference games. The seven-point margin of victory is the second-lowest by an opponent versus the Blue Raiders this season.

—USA—