Game 5 - at No. 14/19 Colorado Game Notes (.pdf)
BOULDER, Colo. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team heads west over the Thanksgiving holiday and will compete this weekend in at the 27th Annual Omni Hotels Classic hosted by Colorado. USA will open up with the host Buffaloes on Friday night with tip off set for 8:30 (CT) at the Coors Event Center on the CU campus.
Live stats and video for the contest versus Colorado will be available on the women's basketball schedule age at www.USAJaguars.com.
In the second round of the tournament, South Alabama will take on either Samford or Rice at either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. (CT).
South Alabama (0-4) enters the weekend holiday tournament still in search of its first win on the season. The last time USA began the season winless after the first four games of the season was at the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
The Jaguars are coming off a 54-51 loss at home to Houston Baptist on Monday night. USA led by six early in the second half, but the Huskies used an 18-7 run to regain control. South Alabama had a chance to tie the contest in the final seconds, but its three-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim.
Meghan Dunn led the Jags with 13 points, all of which came in the final period of play. Dunn leads the club in that category and her 13.5 points per game average ranks 11th in the Sun Belt Conference. The senior guard also ranks among the conference leaders third in three-point field-goal percentage as she is knocking down 50.0 percent of her attempts. Dunn is averaging 2.3 treys per outing - tied for second in the SBC.
As a team, South Alabama third in the Sun Belt in three-point shooting, connecting on 36.4 percent from the arc. Along with Dunn, sophomores Rachel Cumbo and Breanna Hall are threats from the outside for the Jaguars. Cumbo is shooting 46.2 percent from long range - fifth-best in the league - while Hall enters Friday's game shooting 40.0 percent from the line - 10th in the SBC.
Senior forward Ronneka Robertson's 8.8 ppg average is second-best on the club. The preseason second-team all-SBC selection has been strong on the glass as her 8.3 boards are third highest in the league. The Kentwood, La., native is also shooting 46.4 percent from the field.
Defensively, South Alabama is holding its opponents to 67.0 points per game - second-lowest in the league this season. The Jaguars are also holding their opponents to 35.0 rebounds per game, which leads the conference heading into the weekend.
After recording a career-best 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, sophomore forward Taylor Jenkins ranks third in the Sun Belt in blocks with 1.3 per game.
Colorado comes into their home tournament with a perfect 4-0 mark this season and ranked 14th in the nation in the latest Associated Press Poll and 19th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
"Colorado is big. I think they have two kids on their roster that are below six-foot so they present a lot of different problems," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "They have a lot of great depth as well. They have a great inside and a great outside game. They are really good defensively. There's a reason they are ranked 14th in the country."
CU has been ranked in 18 consecutive AP polls, their longest run since appearing in all 19 polls of the 2003-04 season.
Colorado returns four starters and nine letterwinners from last season's club which finished the year with a 25-7 record, its best season in more than a decade, and hosted the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Buffaloes hold wins over Colorado State (63-59), Alcorn State (83-33), Iowa (90-87) and New Mexico (85-53). They are outscoring opponents 80.2 - 58.0 in their four games for a 22.3 margin of victory. CU is third in the Pac 12 in scoring offense and is tied with Oregon State for top honors in scoring defense.
Offensively, Colorado uses an extremely balanced attack as six players are averaging 9.5 points per game or better - five of which in double digits.
Jen Reese - a 6-2 junior forward - paces the club with 11.3 ppg. She is averaging 5.3 rebounds per outing and is shooting 50 percent from the field. Reese is also tied for second in the league in free-throw shooting, hitting 90.0 percent of her attempts. Following close behind Reese is junior guard Jasmine Sborov. Sborov, a 6-0 guard from Round Rock, Texas is averaging 11.0 ppg and has connected on 15 of her 26 attempts from the floor for a team-best .571 percentage. Both Reese and Sborov are deadly from the free-throw line as they have hit a combined 20 of their 23 attempts at the stripe.
Also averaging double figures for the Buffaloes are Brittany Wilson (10.8), Arielle Roberson (10.7) and Lauren Huggins (10.0). Huggins is tied for third in the Pac 12 with a .500 three-point shooting percentage.
Lexy Kresl sits just outside that mark with 9.5 points per outing, but the 5-11 junior guard leads the club with 16 assists.
As a team, Colorado is shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from the three-point line. The Buffaloes lead the Pac 12 in free-throw shooting, converting 74.5 of their attempts at the charity stripe.
Opponents have not shot the ball well from the arc this season against CU as they have connected on just 13 of their 71 attempts for 18.3 percent - tops in the conference and fifth-lowest in the NCAA.
Rice comes into this weekend's tournament with a 3-4 record. The Owls are coming off a 79-74 overtime loss at home on Tuesday to Sam Houston State. The loss was the fourth in the last five games for Rice.
Rice rallied from a nine-point late second half deficit to tie the game in regulation with six seconds remaining on a three from Breion Allen, forcing overtime, but Sam Houston State outscored the Owls 13-8 in the extra session.
The Owls have been tested thus far this season as they have fallen on the road to a pair of top 20 teams - No. 9 Baylor (79-46) and No. 18 Michigan State (81-68).
Offensively, Rice is led in the post by senior Jessica Kuester. The 6-2 forward is averaging 20.6 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. Versus the Bearkats on Monday, Kuester posted her nation-leading seventh double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while playing all 45 minutes of the contest.
Kuester has also had a 33-point, 15 rebound effort versus Prairie View A&M and a 26-point, 21-rebound showing against Southern.
The San Antonio, Texas, native is shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and also has range from out on the perimeter as she has knocked down eight of her 15 three-point attempts (.533). She has gotten to the free-throw line 59 times through the first seven games. Kuester also leads the team in steals (17) and blocks (8).
Fellow post player Megan Palmer is second on the club in scoring with 8.4 ppg. The 6-1 forward has hit 27 of her 58 shot attempts for 46.6 percent. Junior guard Reem Moussa comes into the tournament also averaging 7.7 points per outing.
Samford enters Colorado's Thanksgiving tournament with a 1-3 mark so far this season. The Bulldogs won their season opener at Memphis (62-60), but have since dropped three-straight games - vs. Talladega (50-49), at North Florida (62-44) and at UAB (83-50).
Against the Blazers, Samford shot just 29.6 percent from the field, while UAB was on fire, knocking down 28 of its 49 attempts for 57.1 percent. The Blazers also converted 21 of their 29 free-throw attempts and placed five players in double figures.
Amara Mayers was the lone Bulldog in double digits as she finished with 12 points off the bench.
Samford has six freshmen and five sophomores on its roster this season.
Two of the Bulldogs top three scorers are underclassmen. Leading the way offensively is Hannah Nicholls. The Madison, Ala., native sits just outside double figures with 9.8 points per outing. Nicholls is the top long-range threat for Samford as she has knocked down 10 three-pointers and is connecting on 43.5 percent of her attempts from outside the arc. She is also averaging 4.5 rebounds per games, second on the team.
Sophomore guard Krista Stricklin is close behind Nicholls with a 9.3 ppg average. Her 46.2 percent field-goal percentage leads the team, while she is also a threat from deep, converting on 38.5 percent of her attempts.
One other scorer for the Bulldogs is freshman guard Ellen Riggins from Murfreesboro, Tenn. Riggins, 6-0 freshman forward, is third on the club with an 8.3 ppg average and leads the team on the glass, as she is pulling down 5.0 rebounds per outing. She has also hit 12 of her 13 free-throw attempts for 92.3 percent.
As a team, Samford is averaging just 51.2 points per game, while allowing 63.8 to the opposition.
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 Colorado will be the first meeting between the two clubs in the all-time series. The meeting between South Alabama and Colorado will mark just the fifth time that the Jaguars have faced a current opponent from the Pac 12 Conference. South Alabama is 1-3 in those games. USA's lone win in those previous four meetings came versus Utah in the second round of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Jags defeated the Utes 61-53 in that meeting. The meeting between South Alabama and Rice, should the two teams meet in the second game of the tournament would be the just the second meeting between the two clubs in the all-time series. The only other time the two teams have met was back during the 1991-92 season when the Owls defeated the Jaguars 75-69 in Houston, Texas at the Rice Holiday Classic. It was the season opener for USA that season. Should South Alabama and Rice meet in the second round of the tournament, it would mark the 196th time USA has faced an opponent currently from Conference USA. In those previous meetings, the Jags are 74-122. The Jags fell at Southern Miss, 93-68 earlier this season. The meeting between South Alabama and Samford, should the two teams meet in the second game of the tournament would be the first meeting between the two clubs in the all-time series. The meeting between South Alabama and Samford will mark the 14th time that the Jaguars have faced a team currently from the Southern Conference. USA holds a 7-6 advantage in the previous 13 meetings. The last time the Jags face a SoCon opponent was back during the 2006-07 season when USA lost 54-48 at Georgia Southern.
—USA—
