Game 9 - vs. Spring Hill Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – Coming off a five-game, two-week road trip, the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team returns home to host cross-town rival Spring Hill on Tuesday night.  Tip-off versus the Badgers is set for 5:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.  The game versus SHC will also begin a stretch in which four of USA’s next five games are at home.

The game versus the Badgers will mark the first home contest for the Lady Jags since Nov. 16 when it picked up a two-point win over Southern Miss.

Live stats and live web streaming for the game versus the Badgers can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.

South Alabama (5-3, 0-2) comes into the game versus Spring Hill after dropping its two Sun Belt games this past week.  In its last outing, USA fell 63-49 at Florida International on Saturday - the fifth-straight road game for the Jaguars.  

USA trailed by just two at the break, but for the second-straight game, was outscored by double-figures in the second half.  After beginning the season 4-0, the Lady Jags have since dropped three of their last four.

Senior guard Mary Nixon continues to pace the club offensively with 15.8 points per outing - fifth in the Sun Belt.  She is shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from beyond the three-point line.  Nixon also leads the club in steals (13) and is pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game.

Fellow senior guard Mansa El and junior guard Meghan Dunn sit just outside of double figures with 9.1 and 8.6 points per game, respectively.  El is also averaging 3.5 assists per outing - sixth in the league - and is hitting 81.0 percent of her foul shots - fifth in the conference.  Dunn is hitting 36.6 percent of her long-range shots and averaging 1.9 treys per game.

As a team, USA leads the Sun Belt and rank 29th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 54.5 ppg to its opponents.  The Jaguars are second in the SBC in three-point shooting (24.2) and third in scoring margin (+5.1), three-pointers per game (6.5), rebounding margin (+1.6) and assists-turnover ratio (+1.38).

Spring Hill enters the game versus USA with a 3-6 overall mark and a 2-2 record in the Southern States Athletic Conference.  The Badgers dropped a pair of games over the weekend, falling to Southern Poly (Ga.) (78-57) on Friday and at Lee University (81-49) on Saturday.  Two of the Badgers other losses have been by one point in overtime.

Versus Lee on Saturday, SHC shot just 26.5 percent for the game, while allowing Lee to shoot 47.6 percent.  Lee jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to the victory.  

Jamesha Watkins sits just outside of double figures as her 9.8 points per game average leads the club.  Versus Lee, the junior guard had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and hit four three-pointers.  Watkins has connected on 41.4 percent of her shots from the field and 39.1 percent of her three-point opportunities.  She has been solid at the charity stripe, hitting 91.3 percent of her attempts.

“Coach (Karen) McConico, who is in her second year at Spring Hill, has done a very solid job,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “Their program wasn’t in very good shape when she took it over, but clearly progress has been made during her short time there.  Many of their players played here against us last year, so they will have a measure of comfort having already played in our building against us.  Whenever you step outside of Division I to play an opponent, you can expect that opponent to play with a chip on their shoulder.  That’s normal and we expect that.  We expect to get their best and we need to be able to meet it.”

Senior center April Bradford is second on the club in scoring with 7.9 points per outing.  The 6-2 post player leads the club on the glass with 7.2 rebounds and also has a team-best 20 blocks.  She also has 15 steals, second-best on the team.

Kristin Rogers is close behind Bradford with 7.6 ppg.  Her 59.2 field-goal percentage leads the Badger squad.

As a team, Spring Hill is averaging 63.4 points per game.  The Badgers are also shooting 37.8 percent from the floor and are averaging 10.9 steals per game.

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:  Ronneka Robertson has pulled down six or more rebounds in six of her eight games this season.  As a team, USA leads the Sun Belt and rank 29th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 54.5 ppg to its opponents.  The Jaguars are second in the SBC in three-point shooting (24.2) and third in scoring margin (+5.1), three-pointers per game (6.5), rebounding margin (+1.6) and assists-turnover ratio (+1.38).  The meeting between South Alabama and Spring Hill will be the 30th in the all-time series.  South Alabama holds a commanding lead, capturing 26 of the 29 previous meetings - including the last 13. South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri is 5-0 all-time against the Badgers.  Last season, the Lady Jags cruised to a 97-46 victory over the Badgers. The meeting between Pietri and Spring Hill head coach Karen McConico will be the second between the two coaches.  Pietri is 1-0 in that meeting.  The game will also mark the 44th time South Alabama has faced an opponent currently in the Southern States Athletic Conference. South Alabama is 38-5 all-time versus SSAC members, while Pietri is 6-0 against the league.

-- USA --