Box Score Box Score - Georgia Southern 67, South Alabama 53 (.pdf)
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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team hit just two of its first 17 shots to start second half as Georgia Southern pulled away for a 67-53 Sun Belt Conference victory Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

"Coming into this game, I thought our kids were excited to get out and play again after Thursday's tough defeat," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "Shots just didn't fall for us in the first half; it was an eight-point game, but I thought at worst we should've been down two.  We went 2-for-17 from the field to start the second half — we just have to be able to put the ball in the basket, and at worst we have to be able to get ourselves to the free-throw line.

"We got the game down to 14 at the under-12 media timeout, and we challenged the kids to get it to under 10 at the 10-minute mark.  The next thing you know they go on a big run and it's a 27-point deficit.  Our kids were fighting at the end, but it was too little, too late.  We have to figure out what we need to do in order to be able to score some points, and at the same time we have to stop people as well."

The Jaguars (3-11, 05 SBC) will head back out on the road for a pair of games beginning with Texas State on Thursday night at 5 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.  The loss extended USA's current skid to nine games and the 0-5 start to league play is just the second in program history.  The only other time the Jags began Sun Belt play winless after their first five games was back during the 1999-00 season where that club lost its first 14 conference outings before winning its final two of the season.

South Alabama placed three players in double figures led by Breanna Hall's 19 points.  Hall was 5-of-12 from the field, including four three-pointers, while also knocking down five of her six opportunities at the foul line.  In addition to her scoring, she also tied with Taylor Jenkins for top honors on the glass with five rebounds.

Chyna Ellis scored 13 points with seven of her points coming at the charity stripe.  Fellow freshman Marquita Daniels added 11 points to go along with her four steals.

Georgia Southern (4-9, 1-3 SBC) also placed three players in double figures.  Patriece Butler paced the club with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Anna Claire Knight and Angel McGowan ended the contest with 15 and 14 points, respectively.   

The Eagles connected on 21 of their 49 shot attempts for 42.9 percent, including 7-of-10 from beyond the three-point line, while USA finished just 15-for-55 from the field for 27.3 percent.

The Jaguars came out and scored on their first possession of the contest, but as has been the case of late, USA would go into a five-minute scoreless drought.  During that time, South Alabama missed seven-straight shots and turned the ball over four times.

The Eagles, led by the play of Butler, would take advantage and rattle off a 9-0 run to take the lead.  Butler notched the final seven points of the Georgia Southern run.

Hall knocked down a pull up jumper with just over 14 minutes remaining in the first half to snap the cold streak and on USA's next possession, Daniels drove in for a layup to trim the deficit to three (9-6).

The Eagles would extend the lead back out to six, but once again, South Alabama would battle back and cut the GSU advantage to 18-16 with seven minutes, 11 seconds showing on the clock after a three by Rachel Cumbo and a free throw by Ellis.  

With under five minutes to go before the half and Georgia Southern still leading by three, the Eagles would use the long-range shot to gain some breathing room.  Butler – who led all scorers during the first 20 minutes of play with 12 points – drained her second three of the half and then on GSU's next possession, Abby Hix knocked down a trey from the right side of the arc at the 3:28 mark to put the Eagles up 27-18.

Three-point shooting was a key stat in the first stanza as USA was just 1-of-10, while Georgia Southern hit five of its seven long-range attempts.

McGowan hit three of four free throw attempts with under a minute remaining in the first period to give the Eagles a double-digit advantage at 30-20, but with time winding down, Colby Davis got a bucket to drop just before the halftime horn and send the two teams into the locker room with Georgia Southern holding a 30-22 lead.

Coming out of the intermission, Georgia Southern picked up right where it left off during the first period of play, opening the second stanza on a 9-0 run.  

As would be the case for most of the second half, USA struggled to find its shooting touch, missing its first five shot attempts.  

McGowan put GSU up 39-22 with a basket at the 17:21 mark of the period.

The Jaguars finally got into the scoring column with five-straight points a little over four minutes into the half, but with 14-and-a-half minutes to go, the Eagles erupted on another run to break things open.  Briana Jones began the scoring with a layup at the 14:31 mark.  McGowan then added another bucket less than a minute later.  Knight then came alive for GSU, scoring 10-straight points for the visitors.  Alexis Simms later capped off the 17-2 run and put the Eagles up 58-29 with a three-pointer from the left wing with just under nine minutes remaining.

Georgia Southern would extend its lead out to as much as 33 a few minutes later.

With the Eagles leading 67-35 with five minutes, 27 minutes to go in the contest following another basket by Butler, the Jaguar offense finally snapped out of its slump.  Trailing by 32, USA turned up the pressure and let its defense spark its offense.   

South Alabama attempted to rally back during the final five-plus minutes of the game, closing the contest on an 18-0 run, but the hole was too great.  Hall and Ellis would combine for 16 of USA's final 18 points.

NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia Southern marked the eighth in the all-time series between the two programs.  Georgia Southern now holds a 5-3 advantage in the series.  It was the first meeting between the two clubs since the 2006-07 season.  With her 19 point effort, Breanna Hall has now recorded double figures in 12 of the 13 games in which she has played this season.  For the eighth-straight game, the Jaguars suffered a five-plus minute scoreless drought in the first half.  The loss was the ninth-straight for South Alabama this season.  USA is also now 0-5 to start Sun Belt play for just the second time in program history.   The only other time was back during the 1999-00 season when the Jaguars lost their first 14 conference games before picking up their final two of the season.

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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