Game Notes - Game 4 vs. Houston Baptist (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will close out its two-game home stand Monday night when the Jaguars welcome Houston Baptist to the Mitchell Center.
Tip-off versus the Huskies is set for 7:05 p.m. Live stats and video for the contest will be available at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama comes into Monday night's game still in search of its first win in the 2013-14 season as the Jaguars hold a 0-3 record. The 0-3 start is the first for the program since opening the 1999-00 season with that same mark.
In its last game, USA dropped a 68-60 decision to Nicholls State last Wednesday. The Colonels recorded 13 three-pointers in the win and forced the Jaguars in to 25 turnovers, which NSU converted into 25 points.
Through the first three games, South Alabama is averaging 24.3 turnovers per game, which South Alabama's opponents have capitalized on. USA has turned the ball over 73 times, which has led to 86 points by the opposition (28.7 ppg).
Senior guard Meghan Dunn has played well for the Jaguars over the last two games as she has averaged 17.0 ppg in those outings.
Dunn has knocked down eight of her 14 long-range attempts for 57.1 percent - currently second-best in Sun Belt. She was 3-for-5 from the arc versus Nicholls State on Wednesday. Her 2.7 three's per outing is tops amongst the rest of the league's outside shooters.
As a team, South Alabama leads the conference in that category, knocking down 39.1 percent of its attempts from outside the arc.
Sophomore guard/forward Rachel Cumbo is also off to a strong start in 2013-14. After being limited in her first two seasons in a Jag uniform due to injury, the Houston native is starting to come on as she has finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively in each of the last two games for South Alabama.
"After not having really played in two years, Rachel is still shaking the rust off, but she continues to get more confident every day," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "She's a young lady that we need to continue to step up, not only on the offensive end of the floor, but being a leader in the locker room as well. She gives us an added scorer and another three-point shooter. She brings great toughness and competitiveness to our program. It's good to see her come along and start to develop, knowing we have her in our program for a couple more years.
Cumbo ranks second on the club in scoring with 9.3 ppg - tied for 26th in the Sun Belt. She also ranks among the conference leaders in rebounds (T-15 - 6.0), free-throw shooting (T-2nd - .909), three-point shooting (4th - .444), defensive rebounds (T-6th - 5.0) and three-pointers per game (15th - 1.3).
Preseason all conference selection Ronneka Robertson has gotten off to a solid start in this her final collegiate season. Robertson ranks among the SBC leaders in field-goal percentage (7th - .529), rebounds (7th - 7.7), offensive rebounds (T-7th - 3.0) and defensive rebounds (10th - 4.7).
Houston Baptist (2-2) enters the game versus the Jaguars after falling 74-50 at Jackson State on Friday night. The Huskies turned the ball over 22 times versus the Tigers and were also 0-for-13 from outside the arc.
So far this season, HBU is shooting just 19.2 percent from long range as it has connected on just 14 of its 73 attempts.
The Huskies were also just 6-of-19 at the foul line in the loss.
"I think Houston Baptist does some things that are similar to what Nicholls State does." Fowler said. "They play a match-up zone, they play man and a two-three (zone). They full-court press you. The difference is that they've got a dominant post player and a really good guard, versus Nicholls which had two really good guards. We're going to have to work on our inside defense and also be cognizant of what's going on out on the perimeter."
Junior forward Shaniece Steenholdt leads the club offensively with 16 .4 points per outing. Her 53.1 field-goal percentage and 6.4 rpg average ranks second on the Huskies' roster. She has also been strong defensively as she has 14 steals and four blocks thru four games.
Fellow junior forward Erin McGarrachan is also averaging double figures with 12.2 ppg. She had a team-high 15 in HBU's last outing. McGarrachan is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game and shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe.
Rachel Arthur is shooting 55 percent from the floor and the 5-7 sophomore guard ranks third on the team with 11.8 points per game.
This season marks the first for the Huskies in the Southland Conference.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Houston Baptist will be the third in the all-time series. USA leads the all-time series 2-0. The Jaguars won the first meeting 83-48 in Mobile during the 2008-09 season. Last season, South Alabama opened the season with a 83-53 win in Houston.
—USA—
