Game 25 - at Louisiana-Monroe Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – Heading into the final few weeks of the regular season sitting just a half game out of second place in the Sun Belt’s East Division, the Lady Jags will head out on the road this weekend for an important league match up as they look to extend their current four-game win streak when they take on Louisiana-Monroe at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

“At this point, we are basically in a chase for second place and the bye in the conference tournament, so every game is vital.  Monroe is excellent at the point position and in the post. They also have solid complementary players as well.  As with all games in our conference, we are going to have to give a tremendous effort on the road at Louisiana-Monroe to get a win.  They have been very successful in the conference at home this year.  We need to fight uphill to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Tip-off between the Lady Jags and the Warhawks is set for noon on Saturday.  Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.  Fans can also follow the action on twitter at www.twitter.com/#!/USAJaguarSports.

USA will play three of its final four games on the road to close out the season.  The Warhawks will be the sixth opponent from West Division to face the Lady Jags this season.  South Alabama holds a 4-1 record in those previous five meetings versus West Division foes with the lone loss during that stretch coming at UALR.

South Alabama comes into the road contest versus the Warhawks with a 15-9 overall record and an 8-4 league mark, still sitting a half game behind Florida Atlantic for second place.  On Wednesday, USA picked up its fourth-straight victory with a 68-39 win over Arkansas State.  The win was also the 100th Sun Belt Conference win of Pietri’s career.  The Lady Jags held the Red Wolves to 26 percent shooting and out rebounded the visitors, 47-28 for the game and 26-10 in the second half.   

Mansa El led the way with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 at the free-throw line.  The game marked the 15th time this season that the redshirt junior has recorded double figures.  She leads the team with 12.0 points per game - tied with UALR’s Marian Kursh for 12th in the Sun Belt.  El is one of three Lady Jags shooting above 30 percent from the arc as she has connected on 32.0 percent of her long-range attempts - tied for 13th in the SBC.

USA also received an outstanding perf romance from its bench against the Red Wolves as the Jag reserves held a 29-11 advantage.  Two main contributors for South Alabama off the bench were juniors Veronica Cherizol - 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double - and Camille Reynolds - also with 10 points.

A pair of seniors have also been key to the success of the Lady Jags in conference action.  Sarda Peterson - who received her second player of the week honor this season earlier in the week - ranks second on the club in scoring with 10.5 ppg.  She also paces the club with 55 treys and is shooting 33.3 percent from the arc.  Peterson has posted double figures in seven of her last 11 outings.   Taylor Ammons has been a force on the glass as she has pulled down nine rebounds or better in eight of USA’s 12 league games - five in double figures.  She ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game, but in Sun Belt action, she is pulling down 9.9 rebounds.  Against ASU, Ammons recorded 14 boards.

As a team, USA continues to lead the league defensively allowing just 54.1 ppg - tops in the conference.  The Jaguars have held seven of their last eight opponents to 57 points or less, including 39 to the Red Wolves.

Louisiana-Monroe (7-17, 5-6 SBC) comes into this weekend’s match up after taking a week off.  ULM last played on Feb. 4 where they fell 52-46 at UALR.  The Warhawks led by five at the break, but the Trojans shot 39 percent in the second half and outscored ULM 31-20 in the second period.  

Offensively, the Warhawks are led by preseason second-team all-SBC selection Larrie Williams.  Williams ranks seventh in the league in scoring with 15.1 points per game.  She is also 16th in rebounding (6.0) and fifth in blocks (1.3).  The senior forward is shooting 42.4 percent from the floor, which is second-highest on the team, just behind Ashleigh Simmons’ 42.6 percentage.

ULM is paced on the glass by Marion Zollicoffer who is tied with Florida International’s Fanni Hutlassa for 13th in the conference with a team-high 6.3 boards.

Senior point guard Elizabeth Torres has been solid all around this season for the Warhawks as she sits just outside of double digits offensively at 9.8 ppg - 21st in scoring.  Torres also ranks second in the league in assists (5.2 apg), fourth in both free-throw shooting (.778) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and is tied for eighth in steals (1.9).

As a team, Louisiana-Monroe is averaging 60.5 points per game, while allowing the opposition 65.7 ppg.    ULM’s defense has been better in conference play as they are allowing 10 fewer points per game and holding opponents to just a 34.9 field-goal percentage - second in the SBC - and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.

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 Louisiana-Monroe will be the 13th in the all-time series.  South Alabama holds a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a 4-1 advantage in games played in Monroe.  Under Pietri, USA is 7-3 in the series and 3-1 in games played in Monroe. Last season, the Lady Jags picked up a 78-54 victory versus the Warhawks in Mobile.  The meeting between Pietri and Louisiana-Monroe head coach Mona Martin will be the 11th between the two coaches.  Pietri holds a 7-3 advantage in those previous meetings.  All 10 of the previous meetings have come at both coaches’ present schools.  Senior guard Sarda Peterson sits just seven three-pointers away from tying Stephanie Richardson’s program career mark of 175.  Mansa El has scored double figures in 15 of her 22 games this season.  Taylor Ammons has recorded double-figure rebound tallies in eight of her 12 Sun Belt games.

-- USA --