Box Score - Arkanas State 71, South Alabama 58 (.pdf)
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MOBILE, Ala. – In front of 2,396 fans, the University of South Alabama women's basketball team battled hard, but Sun Belt Conference leader Arkansas State was able to pull away late to take a 71-58 win at the Mitchell Center. The game was part of the Jaguars' annual "Pack the House" event.
"First of all, what a great atmosphere for these ladies to participate in front of today," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "I definitely want to thank our marketing department for putting this event on. I thought we started out playing pretty well. We turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and were still down two to start the half. So we were feeling pretty good to start the second half."
USA (7-14, 5-6 SBC)) will now head back out on the road and begin a two-game road swing on Saturday when the Jaguars take on Western Kentucky at 2 p.m. at E. A. Diddle Arena.
The Jags placed four players in double figures – the first time doing so since their overtime victory on the road at Texas-Arlington on Jan. 25. Ronneka Robertson led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds. Rachel Cumbo and Breanna each recorded 11 points, while Meghan Dunn finished with 10 points – her 15th double-figure scoring game of the season. Dunn was 4-of-4 from the field, but was limited in her touches and plagued by foul trouble in the second half.
Sharon Sanders, making just her second career start, chipped in with nine points and was 3-for-3 from the field.
South Alabama was 20-for-42 from the floor for 47.6 percent, but committed 26 turnovers in the loss. ASU took advantage of the miscues, converting those into 34 points.
"We get 42 shot attempts and commit 26 turnovers, so we don't give ourselves a chance," Fowler said. "I would rather get some shots up, even if they're bad shots because at least we have a chance. You look at the stat sheet and we shoot 48 percent from the field and 58 from three. We're just not giving ourselves enough opportunities to put up more point, shooting the percentages that we're shooting. We have the ability to do it. We just have to give ourselves the opportunities."
Arkansas State (16-8, 10-2 SBC) placed five players in double digits and were led by Aundrea Gamble's game-high 20 points. Gamble was 7-for-17 from the field and 5-of-7 at the foul line. Jane Morrill posted 15 points – all in the second half and nearly missed a double-double as she ended the contest with nine rebounds. Hanna Qedan, Jalen O'Bannon and Brittney Gill also added 12 points each. O'Bannon led all players on the glass with 12 rebounds. The double-double was the fourth of the season for O'Bannon and her second-straight.
The foul line was the difference in the second half for the two clubs as the Red Wolves were 19-of-23 at the line in the second half after not attempting a free throw during the first 20 minutes of play. USA was just 11-for-18 on the day and 2-of-6 in the second period of play.
Gill set a new career best in the ASU win as she had six of the Red Wolves' nine steals.
ASU finished the game shooting well under its season average at 34.3 percent, but it came up big on the offensive glass, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds.
South Alabama led by two (5-3) early on as ASU came out cold, connecting on just one of its first 13 attempts from the field.
Led by Gamble though, the Red Wolves found their shooting touch over the next five minutes and grabbed an eight-point advantage. Gamble scored the first six points of a 15-5 run for Arkansas State. Qedan then drained a trey from the left wing with less than 13 minutes showing on the clock and Jalen O'Bannon then put ASU up 18-10 when the sophomore post player got a turnaround jumper in the lane to drop at the 9:16 mark.
O'Bannon's bucket would be the last for Arkansas State over the next seven minutes. USA would take advantage of the offensive drought for the visitors and reclaim the lead with a 13-0 run over a five-and-a-half minute stretch. Cumbo began the scoring for the Jags with a pair of free throws. Robertson then posted a three-point play and a layup of her own with less than six to go in the half to trim the deficit to 18-17. Cumbo and Breanna Hall later added two more free throws apiece before Meghan Dunn capped off the run and put USA up 23-18 with a layup with three minutes left.
Brittney Gill ended the scoreless streak for the Red Wolves on their ensuing possession. Gill's basket also began a 9-2 run over the final two-and-a-half minutes. After Cumbo hit one of two at the line for the Jags, Gamble narrowed ASU's deficit to two (24-22) with a bucket at the 1:48 mark. Qedan then drained her third three of the afternoon, this one from the right wing, to give Arkansas State a 25-24 advantage. On USA's next possession, Gamble stole the ball from Hall and raced the length of the floor for a layup to give ASU a three-point lead with under a minute remaining.
Robertson was fouled with 6.6 second left before the intermission and hit one of her two attempts to trim the halftime deficit to 27-25.
USA shot 41.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes of action, but committed 12 turnovers, which led to 13 ASU points.
Morrill knocked down a trey on ASU's first possession of the second half to extend the Red Wolves' lead to five, but that would be the last field-goal for the visitors over the next seven minutes as they missed their next nine attempts.
During that stretch, USA would take advantage reeling off a 17-4 run. The Jags used the long-range shot early on in the run, hitting three treys. Cumbo sandwiched a pair of threes around a bucket by Robertson. Dunn then drained a three-pointer of her own with just over 16 minutes to go to give South Alabama a 36-32 advantage. Hall then followed with a pair of buckets and Robertson capped off the scoring and gave USA a 42-34 lead with 13 minutes, 17 seconds showing on the clock.
Arkansas State answered right back though as the Red Wolves rattled off eight-straight points to retake the lead 45-42 on an eight-foot baseline jumper by Morrill at the 10:16 mark. Gamble ignited the run for ASU with a free throw and then an and-one play.
USA once again fought back and regained the lead at 47-46 after a pull up jumper from Dunn and an off-balanced shot in the lane with eight minutes, 42 seconds left in regulation.
Gamble though drained a three from the left wing on ASU's next possession to put the Red Wolves back out in front. The trey from Gamble began a string of six-straight points from the red shirt-sophomore.
The Jags trimmed the deficit to 52-50 when Davis – playing in her first game since suffering a knee injury – connected on one of her two attempts at the foul line with just over six minutes remaining, but Morrill and O'Bannon sparked a 9-2 run for Arkansas State over the next two minutes to extend the lead back out to nine (61-52). Morrill began the scoring with a basket and a three-pointer from the top of the key, while O'Bannon had a put back and a pair of free throws.
Sanders drained her second three of the afternoon on South Alabama's next possession, but it wasn't enough as ASU rattled off a 10-0 run to stretch its lead back out to 16 before taking the 71-58 victory.
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: South Alabama now drops to 10-31 in the all-time series and 7-14 in Mobile. ASU has now won three-straight in the series. Wednesday morning's game marked the third "Pack the House" event hosted by South Alabama. USA had 2,396 elementary students for the area attend the game versus the Red Wolves. The Jags are now 2-1 in those games. The foul line was the difference in the second half for the two clubs as the Red Wolves were 19-of-23 at the line in the second half after not attempting a free throw during the first 20 minutes of play. USA was just 11-for-18 on the day and 2-of-6 in the second period of play. The Jags placed four players in double figures in the loss – the first time doing so since their overtime victory on the road at Texas-Arlington on Jan. 25. The game also marked the second time this season (at Colorado) that USA has had an opponent place five players in double digits. With her 10-point outing, Meghan Dunn has now scored double figures in 15 games this season and each of her last six. Breanna Hall (11) has now scored double figures in six of her last seven. Colby Davis returned to the court for the Jaguars after missing the last four games with a leg injury. Sharon Sanders made her second career start in place of Brittany Webb who is out for the season with a knee injury.
—USA—
