Box Score - Louisiana Monroe 55, South Alabama 52 (.pdf)
MONROE, La. – Senior guard Sarda Peterson looked as if she had sent the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team into overtime when she drained a three-pointer as time expire, but after initially being ruled good by the officials, the play was overturned after reviewing the video, giving Louisiana-Monroe a 55-52 Sun Belt Conference victory at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
With the loss, USA falls to 15-10 on the season and 8-5 in the SBC – ending its four-game win streak. The Lady Jags will take a week off before returning home to host Western Kentucky on Saturday (Feb. 18). Tip-off versus the Lady Toppers s is set for 5:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. The game will be South Alabama’s “Pink Zone” game. Prior to tip-off, USA will honor its four seniors – Taylor Ammons, Cylenthia Kennon, Peterson and Lauren Walker.
Mansa El led all scorers with 20 points – her 16th double-figure scoring outing in her last 23 games. El – who was 6-of-18 from the floor – also added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals for USA. She was the lone Jag to finish in double digits. Peterson chipped in with eight points, while Camille Reynolds came off the bench with seven. Veronica Cherizol and Ammons, each finished with nine and eight boards, respectively.
USA was 18-for-34 from the floor (33.3 percent), but hit us seven of its 24 attempts in the second half for 29.2 percent. The Lady Jags also struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on only four of their 22 long-range attempts – 18.2 percent.
“Louisiana-Monroe deserved to win the game,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “They wanted it a little more than we did. The played a little harder than we did in the second half. I think that at half time our kids just expected the second half would be the same. This is a symptom that we have had throughout the year. We haven’t been consistent with two halves. We’ve done it a few times, but the majority of games we haven’t been able to put two really good halves together. Today was an indication of that. It’s terribly disappointing. All we can do now is move forward. Depending on our outcomes, it’s still not out of the realm of possibilities for us to finish second (in the division). We just have to play the last three games out and see what happens.”
The Warhawks were led by Larrie Williams and Jasmine Shaw, who had 15 points apiece. Williams was 6-of-15 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds, while Shaw was 4-for-8 and 7-of-8 at the foul line. Alexar Tuglar also registered double digits for ULM with 11 points. Marion Zollicoffer paced Louisiana-Monroe on the glass with nine boards of her own.
ULM struggled to find its offensive touch in the first period of play – shooting just 23.3 percent – but bounced back in the final period of action, knocking down 50 percent (13-of-26) of its shot attempts. The Warhawks did most of their damage in the paint area in the second half as 20 of their 31 points came from that area.
Conversely, after scoring 16 points in the paint in the first half, USA was only able to record four points in the final stanza.
Another key stat was in bench points where South Alabama’s reserves contributed with 14 points in the opening period, but just two in the final 20 minute of action.
After the Lady Jags came up empty on their first possession of the game, ULM scored on its first possession, but missed its next field-goal attempts.
El – who led all scorers with 11 first-half points – got the scoring going for USA with back-to-back treys. Then after a Warhawk turnover, the redshirt junior then found Ammons open under the basket for a fast break layup to give the Jaguars a five-point lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game.
With USA leading 11-4 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the period following a Camille Reynolds jumper in the lane, Louisiana-Monroe quickly narrowed the deficit to one (11-10) with six unanswered points. A. Tuglar drained a three-pointer from the right wing at the 13:16 mark and then Williams pulled ULM within one when the senior all-conference forward converted her three-point play after being fouled. The bucket was historical for Williams, as she became the 16th Warhawk player to eclipse the 1,000 point mark for her career.
ULM would get no closer the rest of the half though. USA ended the run for the home team with a jumper at the foul line on the Jaguars’ ensuing possession. Then with 10 minutes, 17 seconds showing on the clock, El drove the lane for a layup and knocked down the bonus shot to extend South Alabama’s lead out to 16-11.
The Warhawks kept battling and Torres again pulled ULM within a single possession when the senior guard knocked down an acrobatic one-hander from the right baseline at the 8:32 mark. The basket was Torres’ only of the opening period of play.
South Alabama held ULM at bay for the rest of the half and headed into the locker room with a seven-point half time lead when El penetrated and delivered a bounce pass to Cheriol for a layup with five seconds remaining to put USA up 31-24 at the intermission.
ULM received a spark early on in the second half from A. Tuglar as she recorded five of the Warhawks’ first seven points during the first three-plus minutes of the period.
Louisiana-Monroe later trimmed the deficit to on a bucket from Reagan Maricle which made it 35-33 with just under 17 minutes left on the clock, but El came right down the floor and found Peterson open for a trey to extended it back out to five.
South Alabama still led by five (39-34) at the 14:28 mark following a free throw from El, but over the next two-and-a-half minutes, the Warhawks rattled off six-straight points and retook the lead, 40-39 – their first since the opening minutes of the contest. Williams game ULM the one-point lead when the senior knocked down another bucket.
ULM was able to steadily chip away at the Jaguar advantage over the first eight minutes of the second half as the Warhawks outscored USA 16-8 during that time frame.
The Lady Jags were able to retake lead over the next few minutes. With USA leading by one (45-44) with under seven minutes to play, the Jaguars committed two costly turnovers on two-straight possessions. A. Tuglar got the first one for the Warhawks when she knocked a ball away and raced down the court for a layup. On the ensuing Jaguar possession, Torres deflected another ball, collected it and raced down the floor for an and-one opportunity that put Louisiana-Monroe out in front, 49-45 with just over six minutes to go. The two fast break opportunities capped off an 8-0 run for ULM.
South Alabama was able to keep it at a one-possession game and had several chances to tie or retake the lead until the final minute. With 44 seconds to go and USA needing to get a stop, Williams came up big for the Warhawks as she drove toward the basket and knocked down a jumper in the lane with two seconds left on the shot clock to increase the Jaguar deficit to 53-50.
After missing three-pointer, USA was forced to foul with less than 20 seconds to play. Shaw calmly stepped to the charity stripe and sank a pair of free throws that pushed the ULM lead to five (55-50) and seemed to seal the win. However, El was fouled with 19.9 seconds remaining and hit both. Again fouled to foul, USA sent Torres to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. Torres missed the front end and Ammons came down with the rebound. Ammons then advanced the ball to just short of the midcourt stripe and threw a long pass to Peterson in the right corner. With time winding down, Peterson collected the high pass and dribbled free before launching the game-tying long-range attempt. After the bucket was waved off, Louisiana-Monroe escaped with the three-point victory.
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: With the loss to Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama falls to 9-5 in the all-time series and 7-4 under Pietri. The loss also snaps USA’s current four-game win streak and its three-game win streak in the series. With its seven-point lead at the half, South Alabama has now led at the intermission in nine of its Sun Belt games (6-3). With her 20 points, South Alabama’s Mansa El has now recorded double figures in 16 of her last 23 games. The 20-point outing was also her third of the season. With her three-pointer, Sarda Peterson now sits just six treys shy of Stephanie Richardson’s career-program mark of 175. ULM’s Larrie Williams became the 16th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau with her first basket of the game. The Warhawks are the 18th opponent that South Alabama has held to 60 points or less this season. USA is 11-7 in those games.
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