Box Score - Troy 78, South Alabama 53 (.pdf)

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TROY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team committed 27 turnovers, which led to 29 points by Troy as the Jaguars fell 78-53 to the Trojans Thursday night at Trojan Arena.  

USA (7-13, 5-5 SBC) will next host Sun Belt Conference leader Arkansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 12.  Tip-off versus the Red Wolves is set for 11:30 a.m. and will be the Jaguars' annual "Pack the House" game.

Breanna Hall led the Jaguars with 12 points, her fourth double-figure outing in her last five games, while also posting three assists and three steals.  Meghan Dunn also ended the night in double digits with 11 points, marking the 14th time this season the senior guard has done so.  Ronneka Robertson just missed her second double-double of the season with eight points and 10 rebounds.  Of her 10 rebounds, nine came on the defensive glass.  

Along with the turnovers, South Alabama struggled to get shots fall, especially in the second half.  For the game, the Jags were 21-of-59 from the floor for 35.6 percent.  In the second half, USA was just 8-for-31 for 25.8 percent.  

Joanna Harden, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, led all players with 30 points in the win.  Harden was 11-of-27 from the field and 4-for-11 from the three-point line.  She was also one of three Trojans to go 4-for-4 at the foul line.  As a team, the Trojans were 18-of-27 at the charity stripe, while USA was just 4-of-11.

With her 30-point effort, Harden became the 20th Trojan player to ever eclipse the 1,000-point mark.  She now has 1,009 in her two-year career.

Also joining Harden in double figures for the Trojans was Brooke Bowie, who recorded 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point line.

South Alabama got off to a quick start in the opening few minutes of the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 lead after threes from Dunn and Hall and a layup from Rachel Cumbo.  

The Jaguars later led 15-8 with 15 minutes, 18 seconds showing on the clock after Dunn's second trey of the period, but over the next five minutes, the Trojans would battle back and erase the seven-point USA lead.  Harden – who had 18 first-half points, ignited the run when the senior guard recorded a layup and was fouled off a Jag turnover.  She then completed the three-point play at the foul line, but more importantly for South Alabama, starting point guard Brittany Webb was injured on the play and would miss the remainder of the contest.  

"(The loss of Webb) changed our whole rotation," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "She's our primary ball-handler and that changed everything.  Meghan Dunn had to play the whole game and guard hard.  I thought fatigue and frustration set in for us.  Those are two tough things to overcome.  "

The Harden and-one play sparked a 14-4 run for the Trojans and the Sun Belt Player of the Year candidate later capped off the scoring and gave Troy its first lead of the game (22-21) when she connected from the left corner with one of her three treys during the first 20 minutes of action.  

With the two clubs tied at 23-23 with nine minutes to go in the first half, Troy's Harden once again sparked a Trojan run with a three-pointer, this one with just over eight minutes left before the intermission.  Ronita Garrett sent Troy into the locker room with a 39=29 halftime advantage when she grabbed an offensive rebound in the lane and got her shot to fall just before the horn.  

USA shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half, but turned the ball over 13 times as a result of Troy's pressure.  The Trojans turned those Jaguar miscues into 13 points.  

Coming out of the break, Troy kept the momentum as it opened the half with a 10-3 spurt over the first two-and-a-half minutes to increase its lead to 17 (49-32.  Harden capped off the early second-half run with another three with 17 minutes, 25 seconds showing on the clock.  

The Jaguars kept battling and held the deficit around the 14-17 point mark for much of the remainder of the game, until a late drought.  Cumbo pulled South Alabama to within 14 (64-50) with seven minutes remaining in the contest, but that would be USA's last field goal over the next six minutes,  During that stretch, Troy took advantage and stretched its lead out to as much 25.

"Our team fought and didn't quit tonight," Fowler said.  "We finally started attacking (late in the second half), but the shots just didn't go for us.  We had opportunities to score at the basket but they just didn't fall.  Other than the first five or six minutes of the game, it just wasn't our night.  We'll have to move forward and get ready to play in our next game."

Hall ended a streak of eight-straight missed field-goal attempts, including four turnovers, with a layup at the 1:09 mark.

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 falls to 20-19 in the all-time series versus Troy.  The win was just the fourth for the Trojans versus the Jags in 19 games since joining the Sun Belt.  With her missed free throw in the second half, Rachel Cumbo had her streak of 22-straight made free throws snapped.  Breanna Hall has now recorded double figures in four of her last five games.  With her 11 points, Meghan Dunn has posted double figures 14 times this season.  The 10 rebounds marked the 14th time this season that Ronneka Robertson has led the Jags on the glass and was the eighth double-figure rebounding game of the season for the senior post player.  The eight three-pointers by Troy were the most by a Sun Belt opponent versus South Alabama this season and the second most by an opponent overall.  

—USA—