Box Score - South Alabama 74, Troy 58 (.pdf)
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MOBILE, Ala. – In front of 3,487 fans, Brianna Wright recorded her fifth double-figure game in her last seven, guiding the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team to an impressive 74-58 victory over instate rival Troy Wednesday morning at the Mitchell Center.
“I would first like to thank Travis Toth and Lloyd Meyers for the energy that put into putting these children in the building,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “There is no question that the energy that the crowd brought – 3,487 – that many adults don’t create that kind of energy. That energy created by those kids is genuine and real. In back-to-back years we have started exceptionally well, and a lot of it has to do with the energy that our team feeds off of from those kids. It is significant, and so I appreciate Travis and Lloyd for their efforts in getting those kids here. It has tremendous benefits for us.”
The game was part of USA’s “Pack the House” promotion where several local elementary students from the Mobile and Baldwin county areas were in attendance. The 3,487 attendance mark set a new stand-alone attendance for a women’s game at the Mitchell Center, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,218 set last season versus Florida Atlantic.
USA (13-10, 6-8 SBC) will continue its current home stand when the Lady Jags welcome Florida Atlantic. Tip-off is set for 5:05 p.m. and the game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network. The win snaps a three-game skid for the Jaguars. South Alabama has now taken 15 of the last 18 meetings and improves to 8-0 versus the Trojans under Pietri.
Wright led the Lady Jags with 16 points – her fifth double-figure outing in her last seven games – on 8-of-15 shooting. The freshman post player also pulled down six rebounds in the win. USA also placed three other players in double digits – Mary Nixon with 12 points and Ronneka Robertson and Mansa El with 10 points apiece.
South Alabama shot over 50 percent in both halves and connected on 29 of its 56 attempts for 51.8 percent – the clubs highest field-goal percentage since the season-opener at Houston Baptist. USA also shot 50 percent in both halves in that game.
“We tinkered with some things after the road trip, and sometimes the tinkering works,” Pietri noted. “We were able to get a lot of movement and get people free, to the point where they were either free at the basket or free on the perimeter. We were able to get some really clean looks instead of semi-clean or forced looks. We made a reasonable percentage of those clean looks, and everything just fed on itself.”
The Lady Jags also recorded 16 assists versus the Trojans, the most since dishing out 21 against Spring Hill (Dec. 4).
The Trojans fell to 4-18 on the season and 1-12 in the conference with the loss. Troy entered the game averaging 74.5 points per game – 16th in the NCAA – but the Jaguar defense caused Troy to struggle most of the game. Troy finished the game shooting 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from the arc.
“I’m super-proud of our defense because that is one of the best offensive teams in the country,” Pietri said. “They are 16th in the country out of 343 in scoring, so I thought we did a really good job today of making it challenging for them, particularly in the first half. We weren’t quite as good in the second half, but we weren’t bad. I thought we covered well in the first half. One of the things that helped us cover even better was the fact that we were making baskets. When you make baskets that gives you a little more juice anyway. That combined with the energy from the kids is a nice concoction to have going. I feel really good about the day. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the firepower that Troy has, and that’s why I feel so good about the way we were able to play on the defensive end of the floor.”
Joanna Harden led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Sara McAppion was 4-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, ending the game with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Britney McLoud also chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
USA did its damage from both the outside of and inside the arc, as the Jaguars hit eight three-pointers and held a 38-22 advantage in the points in the paint category.
After recording a season-low in points (34) in its last outing, South Alabama feed off the energetic crowd and came out on fire, opening up the game on a 9-0 run. Nixon began the scoring with a bucket on USA’s second possession. Robertson later gave the Jaguars the nine-point advantage with a put back at the 16:51 mark.
Troy began the game 0-for-5 from the field with five turnovers during the first four-plus minutes of the contest, but finally got on the board with a three-pointer from Coleman with just over 15 minutes showing on the clock.
The Trojans later narrowed the deficit to five (14-9) on a trey from Joanna Harden, but with just over 13 minutes to go. Megan Dunn found Robertson open down low for a basket, which began a 10-0 run for the Lady Jags over the next two minutes. Nixon then added five-straight points with a pair of free throws and a three of her own. Brittany Webb later capped off the scoring with a three-pointer from the right wing with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining. South Alabama came out hot from the outside as the Lady Jags hit five of their first six attempts from the arc.
USA led 27-12 following a trey from El, but Troy rattled off six-unanswered points and trimmed the deficit to nine after an eight-foot baseline jumper with just over seven minutes to go in the first half.
South Alabama though again had the answer as the Lady Jags reeled off their second 10-0 run of the period and stretched their lead out to 19 three minutes later. Wright ignited the scoring spurt for USA with a turnaround jumper and Veronica Cherizol later game the Jaguars the 36-17 advantage with an up-and-under move in the post.
The Lady Jags went on to take a 39-21 lead into the locker room. South Alabama was solid during the first 20 minutes of action, hitting 14 of its 27 attempts (51.9 percent), including six of its 11 attempts from beyond the arc. The Trojans were just 8-for-28 in the first stanza for 28.6 percent and committed 13 of their 22 turnovers in the period.
Behind the play of Harden, Troy kept the deficit around 15 points during the first four minutes of the second half. Harden had seven of the Trojans’ nine points during that stretch.
With 15 minutes, 36 seconds remaining, South Alabama broke the game open with a 13-0 run over the next three minutes. Wright – who had USA’s first six points of the half – had the defense collapse on her in the paint, but the Greenville, Miss., native was able to find Cherizol open in the paint for an easy layup, which ignited the run. After a Robertson bucket on USA’s next possession, Camille Reynolds drained a trey from the top of the key to extend the lead to 22. El then got into the passing lane and deflected a Trojan pass. The senior scooped up the loose ball and went coast-to-coast for a layup of her own. Robertson then added her second basket of the run and El capped off the scoring and put USA up 54-30 with a jumper at the 12:26 mark.
The 28-point lead would be the largest of the game and USA held control the rest of the way. Holding the big lead, South Alabama got a little sloppy late, allowing Troy to close the final margin to 16.
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 win versus the Trojans, South Alabama improves to 19-17 in the all-time series and has taken 15 of the last 18 meetings. USA head coach Rick Pietri is now 14-2 versus Troy and 8-0 in Mobile. Troy entered the game leading the Sun Belt and ranked 16th in the nation in scoring, but USA held the Trojans to just 58 points – only the third time that they have been held below 60 points. Troy also entered the game shooting over 40 percent, but the Jaguars held the Trojans to just 34.5 percent for the game. South Alabama shot 50 percent in both halves, marking the first time the club has done so since its season opener at Houston Baptist. South Alabama shot 51.8 percent – the clubs highest field-goal percentage since HBU. The Lady Jags also recorded 16 assists versus the Trojans, the most since dishing out 21 against Spring Hill (Dec. 4). Brianna Wright has now recorded double figures in six of her last eight games. The 3,487 attendance mark set a new stand-alone attendance for a women’s game at the Mitchell Center, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,218 set last season versus Florida Atlantic.
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