Game 17 - at Texas-Arlington Game Notes (.pdf)

ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will head back out on the road and begin a two-game road swing this weekend when the Jaguars take on Texas-Arlington on Saturday.  Tip-off versus the Mavericks is set for 5 p.m. at the College Park Center.

Live stats and video for the contest versus Texas-Arlington will be available at www.USAJaguars.com.

South Alabama (5-11, 3-3 SBC) comes into play this weekend after snapping a three-game skid last Saturday versus Louisiana-Monroe, 72-70 on the Sun Belt Network.  

"The win against Louisiana-Monroe was critical for us," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "It you look at what's happening around the league, you've got to defend your home court.  It was great for us to come out and get that win.  We've just got to continue to get better.  I thought we really shot the ball exceptionally well and that we fought and battled.  There were times were we could've let the game slip away, but we were able to make a stop when we needed to and then come down and make a basket at the other end of the floor.  I was really proud of our young ladies' effort."

One of the key stats in the win for the Jaguars was at the foul line where South Alabama knocked down 22 of its 26 attempts, including four by Rachel Cumbo in the final 18.3 seconds to seal the two-point win.  Cumbo led all scorers with 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 from long range, and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe.  

The sophomore guard/forward sits just outside double figures with 9.8 points per game and leads the conference from beyond the arc as she is shooting 51.9 percent.  Cumbo has been even better in Sun Belt action as she is averaging 13.0 ppg and hit 15 of her 27 three-point attempts.  

After the solid performance at the foul line versus the Warhawks, South Alabama now ranks third in the conference in free-throw shooting, connecting on 70.0 percent of its attempts.  USA also continues to lead the SBC in three-point shooting (.376) and three-pointers per game (6.8).  In its six league outings, the Jaguars have knocked down 43.3 percent of their threes, while also holding opponents to 27.2 percent shooting from the arc.  

Over the past 10 games, the Jaguars have done a much better job defending the three-point line as opponents have shot a combined (35-for-147) for 23.8 percent.   The Jags are third in the conference in that category, holding opponents to just 30.2 percent shooting.

A pair of seniors - Meghan Dunn and Ronneka Robertson - have also played well throughout the conference schedule.  Dunn, the club's leading scorer with 11.9 ppg, has shot 51.1 percent from the field and 50.0 from the three-point line in Sun Belt play.  She is seventh in the conference in three-point shooting (.405) and tied for fourth in the league with 1.9 treys per game.  

Robertson - who recorded her first double-double of the season versus ULM - is averaging 8.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg, while also shooting 43.5 percent from the field.  She ranks second in the conference in rebounding.  Robertson led USA on the glass 12 times this season and recorded double-figure rebounding games seven times.  

Texas-Arlington (1-16, 0-6 SBC) enters the game versus the Jaguars after falling 85-62 at home to Troy on Wednesday night - UTA's six-straight defeat.

"(Despite their record) Texas-Arlington is extremely tough," Fowler said.  "They've got a great post duo and then they have a shooter to compliment them as well.  They present a lot of different problems at the defensive end for us.  Defensively for them, they are going to give us a lot of multiple looks.  You can't look at their record, because they are kind of in the same boat as we are in with a new coaching staff and trying to figure things out.  We're going on the road looking for our first road win, so it's going to be critical that we play together and bring the right energy from the start."

The game versus the Trojans was the first in a week for the Mavericks and the rust showed early on as UTA managed to only shoot 16.7 percent in the first half, while Troy hit 19 of its 38 attempts and jumped out to a 46-29 halftime lead.

Desherra Nwanguma led the way with 20 points and 15 rebounds - her third double-double of the season.  After scoring just four points during the first 20 minutes of play, Nwanguma had 16 second-half points and was 8-for-13 from the field in the period.

Nwanguma ranks second on the team and 17th in the SBC with 11.4 points per game, but in conference action, the 6-3 senior has been even better, raising her scoring average to 15.0 ppg and shooting 57.4 percent from the field in UTA's six Sun Belt games.  Overall, Nwanguma is fifth in the conference in shooting, knocking down 49.7 percent of her attempts.  She is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game - fifth in SBC.

Fellow post player Briana Walker leads the club offensively averaging 13.8 ppg - eighth in the league - and 7.6 rpg - fourth.  Walker is shooting 42.6 percent from the field.

In the backcourt, senior guard Laila Sulieman has been solid.  The Yukon, Okla., native is averaging 10.9 ppg and is the top long-range shooter for the Mavericks, knocking down 42.2 percent of her three-point opportunities, which ranks fifth in the Sun Belt.  She also paces the club in assists (39) and steals (25).

As a team, Texas-Arlington is averaging being outscored by its opponents by 14.2 points per game.  UTA is averaging 59.4 ppg, while allowing 73.6 ppg.  The gap as been smaller in conference play as four of the Mavericks' six SBC games have been decided by eight points or less.

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 Texas-Arlington will be just the second in the all-time series and the first between the two clubs since the 1998-99 season.  Texas-Arlington holds a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series, as the Mavericks defeated the Jaguars 73-61 in the consolation game of the Arkansas Dial Classic in Fayetteville, Ark., in the only other meeting.  Saturday's game at Texas-Arlington will mark a milestone for first-year South Alabama head coach as it will be the 400th game of his career as a head coach.  

—USA—