Box Score - South Alabama 58, William Carey 26 (.pdf)Post Game QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – Senior guard Breanna Hall was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and led all scorers with 14 points and the South Alabama defense held William Carey to just 19.1 percent shooting as the Jaguar women's basketball team picked up a 58-26 exhibition win over the Lady Crusaders Monday night at the Mitchell Center.
"Any time you come out, put on the uniforms and go against another opponent, it's always good to come out with a victory," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "I thought defensively we played pretty well, which was the focal point; we need to talk and communicate, and we did a decent job with that. Offensively, we had great opportunities to do things, but we just turned the ball over too much.
"But those are things we can work on. I saw a lot of positives — returning players had good games and were solid, and we got some younger kids on the floor. We were able to get some of the rust and the jitters out, and in the second half they settled down and played pretty well.
"Any time you win the ball game you feel pretty good. Now it's time to make the corrections and get ready for the season opener against Southern Miss."
The Jaguars will now open the regular season on Monday, Nov. 17 when they welcome Southern Miss to the Mitchell Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
Hall was one of three players to end the night in double digits as Marquita Daniels had 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting and 7-of-9 shooting at the foul line. Along with Daniels, Colby Davis also came off the bench and chipped in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Jaguar reserves outscored the Lady Crusaders 40-7.
The South Alabama defense was strong all night as William Carey knocked down just nine of its 47 shot attempts and one of its 15 attempts from beyond the three-point line. USA also held a 45-19 advantage on the boards, including a 33-14 margin on the defensive glass, limiting second-chance opportunities for the visitors.
The Jaguar defense also forced 24 turnovers, 15 of which came in the second half, and had 16 fast break points.
The Lady Crusaders were paced offensively by Fredrikah Wilson's 12 points.
William Carey took the early lead on its first possession with a pair of free throws from Wilson, but South Alabama answered back with a 10-0 run over a five minute stretch to take control. Hall ignited the Jaguar run with one of her two three-pointers in the half. Juliann Miller later capped off the scoring and game USA a 10-2 advantage at the 13:40 mark when the redshirt junior drove the lane and completed a three-point play after being fouled.
The Jaguar defense was strong throughout the first 20 minutes of action as they held the Lady Crusaders without a field goal for the first seven and a half minutes of the game and just 3-of-24 shooting in the period (12.5 percent). Wilson recorded WCU's first field goal of the night and scored eight of the Lady Crusaders' 11 points in the opening half.
South Alabama broke the game open over the final nine minutes, 24 seconds of the first stanza, outscoring William Carey 15-5 during that stretch. Hall began the scoring for the Jags with a layup off of a WCU turnover and then knocked down a trey from the right wing at the 8:32 mark.
Later in the period, Davis intercepted another Crusader pass – one of her three steals in the contest – and went the length of the floor to put USA up 22-10 with just over four minutes remaining before the half.
South Alabama closed out the period with its third three-pointer of the night, this one coming from Miller from the right wing with 22 seconds showing on the clock to send the Jags into the locker room with a 15-point advantage (27-11).
The Jaguars were 11-for-25 from the floor for 44 percent. South Alabama also held a 25-11 advantage on the glass, including an 18-8 lead on the defensive boards. The only negative for USA in the first 20 minutes of play was in the turnover department as it committed 12.
In the second half, South Alabama kept up its defensive pressure and used a pair of runs to extend its lead out.
The first run of the half came with the USA holding a 32-15 advantage. Amber Yelding began the scoring for the Jags with a pair of buckets with 14 minutes remaining and then stole the two possessions later and found Davis racing down the court for a layup. Davis then recorded a steal of her own with under 12 to play and went in for another easy bucket. The buckets by Yelding and Davis along with a free throw by Miller were part of a 9-0 run that stretched South Alabama's lead out to 41-15 with 10-and-a-half minutes to go.
With just over eight minutes showing on the clock, it was Daniels' turn to lead the Jaguars as she recorded 11 of her 13 points during a 15-0 spurt. The Jag freshman did most of her damage attacking the basket as she went to the line five times, including converting an and-one play at the 6:05 mark. Fellow freshman Chyna Ellis capped off the run and gave USA a 57-20 lead, its largest of the night, with a bucket with just over five minutes remaining.
From there, South Alabama went on to take the 32-point victory.
The Jaguars were strong again defensively in the second half, holding William Carey to 26.1 percent shooting (6-of-23) and forcing 15 turnovers. Despite committing 15 turnovers of its own in the final half, South Alabama shot the ball extremely well in the final frame, connecting on 11of its 21 shot attempts for 52.4 percent.
NOTES: The meeting was the first versus William Carey since the 1979-80 season. With the win, South Alabama has now won 15-straight exhibition games dating back to the 2000-01 season. Senior guard Breanna Hall was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the game and led USA with 14 points. USA also held a 45-19 advantage on the glass and a 34-8 advantage in points in the paint. The South Alabama bench outscored the Crusader reserves, 40-7. All 14 Jaguars that dressed saw time on the court. It was announced prior to the game that junior forward Amanda Hoover is no longer a member of the Jaguar roster.
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).
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