Box Score - South Alabama 66, Spring Hill 42 (.pdf)

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MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama women's basketball head coach Terry Fowler and the Jaguars picked up their first win of the 2013-14 season Tuesday evening as USA knocked off Spring Hill 66-42 at the Mitchell Center.

"First of all, it feels good to get the first win," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "I told the team in the locker room that winning is hard, I don't care what people say.  So it was good to get that out of the way, and now let's just move forward.  I hope we can take some momentum from this into Saturday's game against Tennessee Tech."

With the win, South Alabama (1-6) breaks a six-game skid and will now host Tennessee Tech on Saturday with tip-off versus the Golden Eagles set for 1:05 p.m.

The Jags placed three players in double figures in the victory, led by Jennifer Johnson's 15 points off the bench.  Johnson was 4-for-6 from the floor and hit all six of her free-throw attempts.  The game was the third-straight in double digits for the senior.  

Also ending the night in double figures were Meghan Dunn with 15 and Sharon Sanders with a career-high 10.  Dunn also added four rebounds and three assists, while Sanders was 4-0f-8 from the floor and hit a pair of three-pointers.  Ronneka Robertson nearly finished with a double-double as she chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.  

Led by Robertson on the glass, USA held a 48-32 advantage in that category and pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second-chance points.  Freshman guard Colby Davis also added seven rebounds, which were a new career-best for the Wylie, Texas native.

Spring Hill was paced by Bethany Collins' nine points and Aimee Smith's eight.  Collins was 3-of-6 from the field, while Smith hit all four of her shot attempts.  

The Badgers were just 3-for-19 from the three point line in the game – 15.8 percent – and just 1-of-11 in the first half.

Dunn recorded South Alabama's first five points of the game to give the Jaguars the early lead, but Spring Hill came right back with six points of their own and took a one-point lead (7-6) on a layup from Elissa VandeWaa with 14:35 showing on the clock. Prior to the mini run came after a nearly four minute scoreless stretch for the Badgers to begin the game.

USA later regained the lead (12-8) after a bucket in the paint from Taylor Jenkins and a three-pointer from the left corner from Sanders with just under 12 minutes remaining in the opening half.

After a bucket from SHC's Smith a minute later, South Alabama began to gain some breathing room asJohnson rattled off the Jags' next seven points.  The seven points by Johnson were part of a 9-2 run that extended USA's lead out to nine.  Robertson capped off the run and gave South Alabama the 21-12 advantage when Dunn found the senior forward wide open underneath the basket for a layup at the 7:30 mark.  

Spring Hill came right back and narrowed the Jaguar lead to four on a three-pointer by Natilie Harper with six minutes, 12 seconds to go.  The trey was the first of the night for the Badgers snapping an 0-of-7 mark.  The bucket would also be the last points until the final seconds of the opening period of play for the visitors.

South Alabama took advantage of the offensive slump and ran off a 10-0 over the next six-plus minutes.  Robertson began the scoring with a putback and Davis then gave USA a 31-17 lead with a putback of her own with just under a minute remaining.

Smith knocked down a jumper just before the horn to send the clubs into the locker room with USA leading 31-19.

In the second half, Collins attempted to mount a rally for the Badgers as she recorded nine of SHC's first 11 points and trimmed the deficit to 35-28 with a baseline jumper four-and-a-half minutes into the second stanza.

However, USA reeled off eight of the next 10 points and took a 13-point lead (43-30) when Johnson followed a miss and laid the ball back off the glass with 12 minutes, 32 seconds remaining in regulation.  

Spring Hill again pulled to within eight at 43-35 on a three-pointer from the left corner by LaSheena Nation at the 11:35 mark, but that would be the final push for the visitors.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Johnson sank a pair of free throws, which began a 21-4 run for the Jaguars over the next nine minutes.  During the run, six different players scored for South Alabama.  Jenkins capped off the run and put USA up 64-39 with one minute, 34 seconds left on the clock.  The 25-point lead was the largest of the season for the Jags on an opponent.

From there, South Alabama went on to take the 24-point victory.   

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:  With the win, South Alabama snapped a six-game skid to begin the season.  The Jaguars improved to 28-3 in the all-time series versus Spring Hill and have now won 15-straight in the series.  The win was also the first at USA as head coach for Terry Fowler.   USA's Sharon Sanders recorded the first double-figure game of her career with a career-high 10 points.  The game also marked the first time that the sophomore has hit multiple three-pointers in a game. Wither her 15 points off the bench versus Spring Hill, Jennifer Johnson has now recorded double-figures in each of her last three games.  

—USA—