Game 3 - vs. Alabama State Game Notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – Coming off its first win of the season earlier this week, the University of South Alabama women's basketball team will look to pick up the Jaguars' second win of the year when it welcomes Alabama State Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. versus the Hornets at the Mitchell Center.
"(Alabama State) has an outstanding player in Britney Wright who can play either out on the perimeter or at the post position," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "Alabama State is extremely athletic. They aren't as big as they have been in the past, but they sit down on defense and really do a great job of guarding the basketball. They are a really defensive-minded club and that's where they present problems for us.
"From an offensive standpoint, Alabama State runs a lot of your traditional-type sets, but they get the ball in certain players' hands and put them in a position that they can be successful. We're going to have to sit down on defense and really guard them and limit their second-chance opportunities."
Live stats and web streaming of the contest versus Alabama State can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama (1-1) enters Sunday's contest versus the Hornets after picking up its first win of the season on Wednesday against Mobile. USA held on to take the 71-67 win over the Rams.
Leading the way in the win was freshman post player Chyna Ellis who recorded her first career double-double in the victory. Ellis ended the night with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while knocking down five of her 11 shot attempts and posting two blocks.
Ellis is averaging 11.0 points per game and leads the club with 7.5 rebounds per outing.
Junior forward Taylor Jenkins also had a solid night for South Alabama in the post as she scored a career-best 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and tied a career-high with three blocks. As a team, USA had seven blocks, the most in a game since the 2012-13 season.
JUCO transfer Amber Yelding also ended the night in double digits against the Rams. She is averaging 9.0 ppg and leads the team with six steals.
Against the Lady Rams, South Alabama was without the services of preseason all-conference selection Breanna Hall due to a foot injury. The senior guard recorded 16 points in the season opener versus Southern Miss earlier in the week. Hall is listed as day-to-day coming into the contest versus Alabama State.
After recording 29 turnovers in the season-opening loss to USM, South Alabama did a better job of protecting the ball in its second game of the season, cutting its turnover count to 18. Of those 18 turnovers, only eight came over the final 27-plus minutes.
The Jaguar women are shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
Alabama State (2-1) comes into the game versus the Jaguars after suffering its first loss of the season on Thursday evening, falling 71-62 at Savannah State. ASU held a 56-36 advantage on the glass, but only shot 29.6 percent in the game and turned the ball over 30 times.
SSU knocked down 31 of its 65 shot attempts in the win and had 17 steals.
The Hornets opened up the year with wins over Stillman (75-66) and Florida A&M (64-49) prior to the loss to the Tigers.
Sophomore forward Brittney Wright led Alabama State with 19 points and 11 rebounds versus Savannah State – her first double-double of the season. Wright ranks among the league leaders in several categories – fourth in scoring (15.7 ppg), second in rebounding (9.0) and her field-goal percentage (.500) is tied for sixth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
As a team, Alabama State leads the SWAC in scoring defense, field-goal percentage, blocks, rebounding and rebounding margin. The Hornets are pulling down 48.3 boards per game, including 32.3 on the defensive glass. Along with Wright, three other players also rank in the top 18 of the SWAC in rebounding – Jasmine Peeples (7.7 – fifth), Mayo Miracle (6.0 – T11th) and Daniele Ewert (5.3 – T18th).
Ewert is shooting 72.7 percent from the field and is averaging 9.0 ppg. Peeples is also tied with Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Jazmyne Victorian with 2.7 blocks per game.
Alabama State is second in the SWAC in scoring, field-goal percentage defense, assists and three-pointers per game. ASU is averaging 4.3 treys per outing.
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Alabama State will be the 25th meeting in the all-time series. The Jaguars lead the series 19-5 and are 14-0 all-time versus the Hornets in Mobile. USA is also 1-0 versus ASU at the Mitchell Center. The last time the two clubs met during the regular season was back during the 2004-05 season, a 57-52 overtime win by the Hornets in Montgomery. South Alabama holds a 61-17 all-time record versus current Southwestern Athletic Conference members. The last time USA faced a SWAC member was back during the 2009-10 season (Southern).
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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