Game Notes - Game 1: vs. Southern MissMOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will officially open up the 2014-15 campaign Monday night at the Mitchell Center when the Jaguars welcome regional rival Southern Miss. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. versus the Golden Eagles is set for 7:05 p.m.
"It has seemed like (the start of the season) was a long ways away, but it's here now," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "For us, we actually have to wait a couple extra days more than some other teams around the country before we get it started. It's great to open up the season here at home against a quality opponent.
"There's no better way to get our kid's attention than to open up with an opponent such as Southern Mississippi. Southern Miss is a very talented team. They have some really good perimeter players in Dinkins, Clemons and add to that, they have a couple good shooters as well. Southern Miss also has an unbelievable post presence. They have the athletic ability on the perimeter and then they bring physicality in the post."
Live stats and web streaming of the contest versus Southern Miss can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama enters Monday night's season opener versus Southern Miss after picking up a 58-26 exhibition win over William Carey.
The Jaguars used a strong defensive performance in the win, holding the Lady Crusaders to just 19.1 percent shooting and outrebounding the visitors 45-19. Breanna Hall who was 6-for-6 from the field and led South Alabama with 14 points. True freshman Marquita Daniels also had 13 points off the bench, including 11 during a 15-0 second-half run. The Jag reserves outscored WCU, 40-7 in the victory.
The lone negative from the exhibition was the 27 turnovers by the Jaguars, an area that Fowler feels South Alabama must get better in.
"The number one thing for us to correct in this game is our turnovers," Fowler said. "After looking at the film of the game, probably seven of those turnovers were what we call dead ball turnovers where we set an illegal screen, or had a three-second violation, etc. Those are turnovers that we get to go back and set our defense. It's the turnovers that lead to transition by the opposing team that we really have to cut down on. That's going to be the emphasis for us as we head into the game versus Southern Miss."
USA has a primarily new roster as it enters the start of the 2014-15 season. Along with Hall, South Alabama returns five letterwinners from last season's club, but welcomes seven newcomers and two players who redshirted a year ago.
Leading the way amongst the five returners are Hall and junior guard Rachel Cumbo. Hall and Cumbo were each named preseason third-team all-Sun Belt Conference last month. Hall returns as the top-leading scorer for USA after posting her best numbers in a Jaguar uniform. She ranked second on the team and 24th in the Sun Belt in scoring with 10.0 points per game and scored double figures 14 times, including nine for her last 10 games to end the season.
Cumbo had a solid sophomore season in 2013-14, averaging 8.9 points and was second on the club with 4.3 rebounds per outing, playing at both the guard and forward positions. Cumbo led the Sun Belt Conference from the arc with a 46.6 three-point percentage – a new single-season best at USA – and connected on 48.1 percent of those attempts in league play. Her 48 three-pointers were second-most on the club. She also ranked fourth in the conference with an 84.5 free-throw percentage – also a new program single-season best – and was tied for seventh in the league with 1.7 treys per game.
Highlighting the list of newcomers to the Jaguar roster are junior college transfers Amber Yelding, Amanda Hoover and Simonne Potts and true freshmen Marquita Daniels, Chyna Ellis, Genesis Perrymond and LaNeetra Guillory.
Southern Miss (1-0) enters the contest versus the Jaguars after opening the 2014-15 season with a dominating 98-45 victory over William Carey on Friday.
The Golden Eagles placed six players in double figures in the win. Brooke Rhodes and Lashrya Cotton led the way with 18 points apiece. Rhodes – a graduate transfer from Delta State – was 6-for-7 from three-point range, while Cotton was 8-of-9 from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line. The sophomore forward recorded five of USM's 17 steals in the contest.
Also recording double-figures in the win were Kierra Jordan with 17 points and Ashley Folsom, Voche Martin and Markia Nix, who all chipped in with 11 points apiece.
One of the biggest pieces Southern Miss is looking to replace off its school-record 27-win team from a year ago was at the point guard position. Gone is Jamierra Faulkner, who led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 17.7 points while also leading the team, Conference USA and nation in assists per game (8.6). Sophomore guard Brittanny Dinkins got off to a solid start in place of Faulkner as she dished out 11 assists versus the Lady Crusaders. Led by Dinkins, USM registered 28 assists on its 35 made field goals.
As a team, Southern Miss shot 68.6 percent from the field against William Carey, knocking down nine of its 12 three-point opportunities. USM came out of the gates on fire, connecting on 22 of its 29 shot attempts for 75.9 percent during the opening 20 minutes of play.
Southern Miss returns considerable experience as compared to the 2013-14 squad with 77 percent of the offense returning and 89 percent of its rebounding. Tamara Jones is the top returning scorer at 14.4 points followed by Jerontay Clemons at 11.2. Jones was the top rebounder at 6.0 while Clemons was next at 5.1 rebounds per game.
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Southern Miss will be 28th between the two programs in the all-time series. Southern Miss holds a 16-10 advantage in the series and picked up a 93-68 victory over the Jags in Hattiesburg last season. South Alabama holds an 8-5 advantage in the series on its home floor and a 8-3 lead in the series at the Mitchell Center. South Alabama holds a 83-181 all-time record against current Conference USA members. C-USA has former Sun Belt Conference members in it – Charlotte (8-2), Florida Atlantic (9-7), Florida International (11-17), Louisiana Tech (0-21), Middle Tennessee (4-21), North Texas (8-14) and Western Kentucky (13-47). FAU, FIU, MTSU and UNT joined C-USA prior to the start of the 2013-14 season and WKU joined the league this past July. The last time the Jaguars faced a C-USA member during the regular season was last season when USA lost 93-68 at Southern Miss.
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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