Game 7 - at Ole Miss Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will continue its four-game road swing this weekend as the Jaguars travel to take on Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss.  Tip-off versus the Rebels is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum.

"As we continue this road trip, we're continuing to try and build a toughness and mindset of going on the road and taking care of business," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "Ole Miss presents its own set of challenges.  They have great size in the post and have an all-conference caliber player in Tia Faleru at that position.  They have talented guards, but they're young guards.  We're going to have to be able to handle their pressure.  They really get out and deny the wing and try to put a lot of on-ball pressure to create a lot of turnovers.  We're just going to have to try and take care of the basketball."

Live stats and the Jaguars audio broadcast of the contest versus Ole Miss can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  The game will also be aired on the SEC Network+ (web stream), which the direct link can be found on the team's schedule page.

South Alabama (3-3) comes into play this week after taking a break for fall semester finals.  USA's last outing came on Dec. 6, a 66-62 loss at Nicholls State.  The Jaguars held a three-point lead with under two minutes remaining, but the Colonels used a late surge to rally back and pick up the four-point win at Stopher Gym.

The loss to the Colonels was the seventh-straight road loss for the Jags and the 15th in the program's last 16 outings away from the Mitchell Center.

Breanna Hall led South Alabama with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Colby Davis recorded a season-best 16 points off the bench and also registered a career-high four steals.

The game versus the Colonels was the first of four-straight road contests for the Jaguars.

Entering play this week, Hall leads the club and ranks third in the conference in scoring with 18.3 ppg.  The Mesquite, Texas, native also ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (9th – .508), free-throw shooting (9th – .778), three-point shooting (T7th – .444) and three-pointers per game (4th – 2.4).  She has also scored double figures in 17 of her last 19 games dating back to the '13-14 season.

Junior forward Simonne Potts has also had a solid start to her Jaguar career as she is averaging 8.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while also knocking down 57.1 percent of her shot attempts.  Potts is fifth in the league in shooting and eighth on the glass.  She is also tied with teammate Chyna Ellis for 10th in offensive rebounds (2.5) and tied for 11th in defensive rebounds (4.0).

Ellis has also had a solid first season at USA as she is averaging 6.7 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per outing – tied with Texas State's Erin Peoples.

Fellow freshman Marquita Daniels is third on the team offensively with 6.8 ppg.

Ole Miss (6-3) enters the game versus the Jaguars after falling to ninth-ranked Baylor in Oxford on Dec. 7.  The Bears shot 55.7 percent from the field and held Ole Miss to 27.9 percent shooting, while also holding a decisive 56-29 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive rebounds to just 17 defensive rebounds for the Rebels.

Tied 15-15 left in the first half, Baylor broke the game open with a 29-4, including a 16-0 spurt, on the way to a 44-19 halftime lead.  

The game versus South Alabama will be the second off a six-game home stretch for the Rebels.  Ole Miss is 4-2 this season at C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum.

Offensively, the Rebels are led by senior forward Tia Faleru – a preseason second-team all-SEC selection.  Faleru currently ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring and first in rebounding.  The Ozark, Ala., native is averaging a double-double with 15.9 ppg and 11.0 rpg – 23rd in the NCAA.  She is also fourth in the conference in steals (23) and 13th in field-goal percentage (.533).  Faleru also leads the club with 15 blocks.  Last season, Faleru had 24 points and 13 rebounds versus the Jags in Mobile.

As a team, Ole Miss leads the SEC in steals with 14.6 per game.  Through their first nine games, the Rebels have collected 131 steals.  Sophomore guard Erika Sisk, a transfer from Murray State leads the league individually in that category with 3.0 steals per game.  She is second on the team in scoring with 8.7 ppg.

NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Ole Miss will mark the seventh in the all-time series between the two programs.  The Rebels hold a 4-2 lead in the series and have won the last two meetings, including a 72-56 decision in Mobile last season.  This will be just the second meeting between the two clubs in Oxford, Miss.  Ole Miss took that meeting, 54-45, back during the 2011-12 season.  South Alabama holds a 20-88 all-time record versus current Southeastern Conference members.  The last time USA defeated a SEC member was back during the 2010-11 season (Ole Miss, 67-60).  The Jaguars hold a 3-42 record on a SEC member's home floor.  The last time South Alabama picked up a win over an SEC opponent on its home court was back during the 1990-91 season when the Jags defeated Missouri, 56-55 at the Mid-American Classic.  USA has lost 16-straight road games to SEC opponents.  Coming into the game versus Ole Miss on Sunday, South Alabama has lost seven-straight games away from the Mitchell Center and 15 of the program's last 16 dating back to the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

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).

—USA—