Game 18 - vs. Louisiana-Monroe Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team begin a three-game home stretch Wednesday night as the Lady Jags welcome Louisiana-Monroe to the Mitchell Center.  Tip-off versus ULM is set for 7:05 p.m.

“Anytime you play someone for the second time and you have beaten them in the first meeting, the normal approach is for that team to have a chip on their shoulder when they come back in the building,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “I think that if you ask ULM they will probably say they feel that they should have beaten us the first time.  We’ve got to bring an incredible amount of focus and energy from the start (on Wednesday).  We also have to be confident in how we approach things offensively, because for the most part, we’ve been pretty sound (this season) defensively, but offensively, we just haven’t been consistent.  We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent and when we execute what we want to do, also be able to finish and convert the play.”

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

South Alabama (10-7, 3-5 SBC) comes into Wednesday evening’s match up versus ULM after suffering a 67-47 loss at North Texas over the weekend.

Versus the Mean Green, USA struggled to get anything going offensively, shooting just 25.4 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from the three-point line.  South Alabama trailed by as much as 36 in the second half, but ran off a late 18-0 run to narrow the final margin.

Brianna Wright was a bright spot for the Lady Jags in the loss as she came off the bench to set a new career high with 13 points.  The freshman post player was 5-of-8 from the floor and also added eight rebounds.  Wright is averaging 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season.  She also is second in the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage, knocking down 53.3 percent of her shots.

Mary Nixon paces USA on offense with 11.8 ppg - 14th in the Sun Belt.  She also leads the club behind the arc, knocking down 38.6 percent of her attempts - sixth-best in the league.  Fellow senior Mansa El sits just outside of double figures at 9.4 ppg.

Junior forward Ronneka Robertson continues to have an outstanding season on the glass for the Lady Jags.  She is currently three-way tie for fifth in the league with 7.4 rebounds per game.  She also ranks among the SBC leaders in both offensive and defensive rebounds and has grabbed six or more boards in 13 of USA’s 17 games this season.

South Alabama continues to rank among the conference leaders in several categories.  USA leads the SBC in scoring defense (53.9) and three-pointers per game (6.4), while ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (38.3),  rebounding defense (36.3) and rebounding margin (+3.8).  

Louisiana-Monroe (3-13, 1-6 SBC) enters the midweek league contest after falling 66-48 at home to Middle Tennessee on Saturday. The Warhawks allowed the Blue Raiders to jump out to a 36-20 lead at the break and controlled things the rest of the way.  MTSU forced ULM into 21 turnovers and was led by Ebony Rowe’s 32 point and nine rebounds.  The Warhawks also struggled at the charity stripe in the loss, hitting just six of their 17 attempts.  

In the first meeting between USA and ULM back at the beginning of January, the Lady Jags used a 13-2 run late in the second half to rally back and defeat the Warhawks 53-43 in Monroe.

Junior forward Ashleigh Simmons led ULM with her third double-double of the season, finishing the evening with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Simmons leads the club in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds.  She is 23rd in the conference in scoring and ninth in rebounds.  Simmons is also connecting on 42.4 percent of her shots this season.

Jasmine Shaw (9.6) and Alexar Tuglar (9.1) also sit just outside of double figures.  Alayshia Hunter - who is averaging 6.6 ppg and 4.4 rpg - leads the squad and ranks 14th in the league in shooting at .463.  

Sophomore guard Jae Shin is the top outside threat for ULM.  Shin leads the Sun Belt in three-point shooting, knocking down 46.3 percent of her long-range attempts.  Versus MTSU, Shin connected on three treys off the bench.

Entering play this week, the Warhawks rank last in the Sun Belt in scoring (57.1) and scoring margin (-12.4).  ULM is also 10th in scoring defense, allowing 69.5 ppg to the opposition.  Opponents are also shooting 40.9 percent from the field.

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 16th in the all-time series.  South Alabama holds a 10-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-2 advantage in games played in Monroe.  Under head coach Rick Pietri, USA is 8-4 in the series and 4-1 in games played in Mobile.  USA captured the first meeting earlier this season, defeating ULM 55-45 in Monroe. The meeting between Pietri and Louisiana-Monroe head coach Mona Martin will be the 13th between the two coaches.  Pietri holds an 8-4 advantage in those previous meetings.  All 12 of the previous meetings have come at both coaches’ present schools.

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