Game 16 - vs. Louisiana-Monroe Game Notes (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will play the first of its three televised games the season on Saturday when the Jaguars take on Louisiana-Monroe at the Mitchell Center. The game versus the Warhawks is set for a 5 p.m. start and will be shown on the Sun Belt Network and can be seen on either CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast and ESPN3).
"We really need to fill up the Mitchell Center and give our players a great environment," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler. "It's also a great opportunity for us to help ourselves in recruiting. People get to see us in several million homes in the Southeast. WE've got to come out and play with a great deal of passion and energy. Everything else will take care of itself."
USA's games at Western Kentucky (HSSN) on Feb. 15 and at Louisiana-Lafayette (SBC-TV) on March 2 are also slated to be televised this season.
Live stats and video for the contest versus Louisiana-Monroe will be available at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama (4-11, 2-3 SBC) enters Saturday's match up versus Louisiana-Monroe looking to break a three-game skid. The Jaguars could not overcome 30 turnovers in their last outing as they fell 65-60 to Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday night.
Ronneka Robertson and Breanna Hall led the way with 15 points apiece in the loss, while Rachel Cumbo had 14. The 15 points were a new career-best for the junior guard.
Robertson continues to rank as one of the top rebounders in the league this season as she is second in the Sun Belt with 8.5 rebounds per game. Robertson is also tied for third in the SBC in offensive rebounds (2.8) and second in defensive rebounds (5.7). She has recorded six double-figure rebound games this season and led the club in that department 11 times.
Senior guard Meghan Dunn is 14th in the SBC in scoring with 11.7 ppg. She is eighth in the conference with a 40.6 three-point percentage and is tied for fifth with 1.9 treys per game. Dunn has scored double-figures a team-best nine times this season.
As a team, South Alabama leads the conference in both three-point shooting and treys per game. The Jags have knocked down 36.6 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc and are averaging 6.7 threes per game. USA has also done an excellent job defending the three-point line as they are second in the Sun Belt holding opponents to 29.4 percent shooting. In league play, the opposition is shooting .247 (20-of-81) from the outside.
Along with Dunn, Cumbo as been one of the top threats from deep. The Houston, Texas, native currently leads the Sun Belt from long range as she has knocked down 50 percent of her attempts. She is also tied for seventh in the conference in threes per game with 1.7.
One other player who continues to play well as of late is true freshman Colby Davis. After posting 15 points at Arkansas State last weekend, Davis finished with five points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists against ULL. She has scored double figures in five or her last seven outings and she is tied with Robertson with 8.3 points per outing.
In the post, Jennifer Johnson is second in the Sun Belt in blocks with 1.3 per game. Over the last 10 games, the senior forward from Tulsa, Okla., has registered 16 of her 18 blocks this season. She had two in just 15 minutes of action in South Alabama's last game.
Louisiana-Monroe (7-9, 3-1 SBC) comes into the game versus the Jags riding a three-game win streak. ULM dropped its SBC opener, but has since picked up wins over league newcomers Texas-Arlington and Texas State and Troy on the road Thursday night.
The Warhawks placed four in double figures and led by 15 at the intermission before picking up the 83-72 victory.
Elexar Tuglar led Louisiana-Monroe with 17 points as she was 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. E. Tuglar leads the team with 61 assists and is averaging 9.1 ppg and is second on the club from the outside, connecting on 42.1 percent of her attempts. E. Tuglar is fifth in the SBC in assists, while ULM leads the rest of the conference with 15.1 per game.
Her sister, Alexis Tuglar has knocked down 42.1 percent of her three-point attempts. The Tuglar twins are fifth and sixth in the league in that category.
ULM is averaging 72.2 ppg and is led offensively by the trio of Ashleigh Simmons (15.1), A. Tuglar (10.4) and Jasmine Shaw (10.3). Simmons ranks fourth in the SBC in scoring, while A. Tuglar and Shaw are also among the top 20 in the league.
"(Louisiana-Monroe) is playing awfully well," Fowler stated. "They've got a great inside-outside game. (Ashleigh) Simmons is as good as anybody in the post and the twins (Alexar and Elexar) are great out on the perimeter. They are really pushing the ball and defensively, they are really doing some good things. We've got to really value the ball and take care of it. We've also got to be efficient at the offensive end of the floor. Defensively, we've got to get stops. Louisiana-Monroe is coming off a game at Troy where they had 55 rebounds and 24 offensive boards, so we've got to really focus on that end of the floor."
Simmons also leads the conference with her 55.7 field-goal percentage and is third in rebounding (7.7).
As a team, the Warhawks are second in the Sun Belt in rebounding (42.9) and offensive rebounds (27.9) tied for second in field-goal percentage defense (.382), and third in field-goal percentage (.426), and blocks (4.1).
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 Louisiana-Monroe will be the 17th in the all-time series. South Alabama holds an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 6-2 advantage in games played in Monroe. Dating back to the 2007-08, South Alabama has won six of the last eight meetings. Last season, USA swept the season series, winning the first meeting 55-45 in Monroe and the second meeting 61-51 in Mobile. Dating back to the 2007-08, South Alabama has won six of the last eight meetings. The Jaguars have been on either national or regional television 24 times in their 39-year history. USA's all-time record on the tube is 8-16.
—USA—
