Game 3 - vs. Southern Miss Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team will welcome regional rival and Conference USA foe Southern Miss Friday evening to the Mitchell Center.  Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.

Live stats and video of the contest of the Lady Jags versus the Golden Eagles can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.

South Alabama comes into Friday’s contest versus the Golden Eagles off to a 2-0 start after picking up a 59-43 victory over Tennessee State earlier this week.

USA used a 16-0 second half run late in the contest to retake the lead and eventually pull away from the Lady Tigers.  Jennifer Johnson began the pivotal run with back-to-back three-pointers.  The Lady Jags’ all-conference duo of Mary Nixon and Mansa El then added four points apiece to complete the run.

Nixon led all scorers with a game-high 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.  The senior was 2-for-3 from beyond the three-point line and 4-of-6 at the charity stripe.  She leads the club and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring with 19.0 points per outing.  Nixon is also knocking down 53.8 percent of her shots from the floor and her four treys pace the team in the early going.

El and Johnson are also averaging 9.5 and 8.0 points per game, respectively.  As a team, USA is averaging 71.0 ppg, while surrendering 48.0 points to the opposition.

The Lady Jags are also connecting on 45.3 percent of their attempts from the floor and have been solid defensively, holding opponents to 31.1 percent shooting and 12.0 percent shooting from the three-point line.

Freshman post player Brianna Wright - who pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds (10 offensive) against the Lady Tigers - is tied with two other players in the SBC for fifth in rebounding with 9.0 per game.  She also holds the second-best shooting percentage (.750) in the league.

Southern Miss enters the game versus the Jags after falling 78-41 to Hampton back on Nov. 9 in its season-opener.

“The thing that we have to be concerned about is this is a team that beat us last year,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “Their backcourt basically killed us last year – Tanecka Carey and Jamierra Faulkner. They put up 26 and 20 (points) on us, and they’re back. We’ve got to find a way to manage them without ignoring the other players on their team who are capable as well. They’re coming off what I’m sure to them was a disappointing loss and they’ve had a whole week to stew about it, which as their next opponent, is something I’m not very excited about.

“Nonetheless, I know that they’ll be ready to play, and, based on their success versus us last year in a very close game, I know that they’re not going to have any fear of us, so we’re going to have to do the best we can to defend and find ways to score to give ourselves a chance to win.”

USM struggled at the offensive end of the court versus Hampton as the Golden Eagles shot just 17.4 percent from the floor during the first 20 minutes of play and headed into the locker room trailing by 24 and couldn’t come back in the second half.

Tanecka Carey was the lone player for USM to finish in double figures, leading the way with a team-best 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The senior was second on the squad a season ago with 15.2 points per outing and her 69 three-pointers were the most by any player on the roster.

Junior point guard Jamierra Faulkner led the Golden Eagles in scoring during the 2011-12 campaign, averaging 17.2 ppg and 7.2 assists per game - third best in the nation.  

The duo of Faulkner and Carey ranked third and fifth, respectively, in Conference USA in scoring.  Faulkner was a preseason all-CUSA selection this year after picking up first team honors last season.

As a team, USM is averaging 41 points and 40 rebounds per outing while shooting 30.2 percent from the field.  Southern Miss is tied with Dayton and Tennessee for having the sixth-youngest team in Division 1 in terms of years of senior college experience coming in to this season.

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 Southern Miss will be the 26th in the all-time series.  USM leads the all-time series 15-10, while head coach Rick Pietri is 7-2 against the Golden Eagles during his career.  Last season, the Golden Eagles picked up a 67-62 win over the Lady Jags in Hattiesburg.  USA holds a 7-2 advantage in the nine previous meetings in Mobile and has won four-straight at home.  The meeting between Pietri and Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis will be the ninth between the two coaches during their careers with Pietri holding a 6-2 advantage in those contests.  USA list one player – Brianna Wright (Greenville) from the state of Mississippi on its 2012-13 roster, while the Golden Eagles list two players from Alabama - Tiarra Pollnitz (Birmingham) and Danielle Johnson (Tuscaloosa).  The Lady Jags have played twice on Nov. 16. In those contests, USA holds a 2-0 record.  The last time USA played on this date was during the 2010-11 season where the Jaguars defeated Southern Miss, 95-61 in Mobile.  USA is 2-0 on this date under Pietri.  The game versus Southern Miss will mark the 97th time USA has faced an opponent currently from Conference USA.  In those previous meetings, the Lady Jags are 45-51, while Pietri holds a 13-7 all-time versus the league.  USA was 1-1 against CUSA last season and will face Central Florida in Orlando later this season.

-- USA --