Game 12 - at Arkansas-Little Rock game notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will travel to Arkansas-Little Rock and close out its two-game road trip on Monday night. Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.
Live stats and web streaming of the contest versus Arkansas-Little Rock can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama (3-8, 0-2 SBC) comes into the contest versus the Trojans still in search of its first conference win and looking to snap a six-game skid.
On Saturday, the Jaguars fell 49-59 at Texas-Arlington – which was the program's 11th-straight road loss and seventh straight Sun Belt road defeat dating back to last season.
USA trailed by as much as 13 in the second half, but fought its way back, getting as close as six late, but the Jags could get no closer as the Mavericks held on for the 10-point win.
The Jaguars are looking to avoid their first 0-3 start to conference play since the 2012-13 season. Along with the '12-13 season, USA has started 0-3 in the league just two other times (2006-07, 1999-00).
Breanna Hall led South Alabama offensively in the loss with 16 points. It was her 15th-straight game in double digits and 22nd in her last 24 outings. Hall ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring with 17.3 ppg. The Mesquite, Texas, native also ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (15th – .463), free-throw shooting (3rd – .850), three-point shooting (3rd – .463) and three-pointers per game (3rd – 2.5).
Freshman guard Marquita Daniels had a solid outing versus UTA as she ended the night just one point shy of tying her season high with 14 points. She was 4-of-9 from the floor and hit four of her six free throw attempts. Daniels ranks second on the club with 6.9 points per outing. She is tied with Hall for top steal honors with 12.
Fellow freshman Chyna Ellis is close behind Daniels with 6.7 ppg. She leads the club and ranks eighth in the SBC with 7.1 rebounds per game. Ellis currently leads the league in blocks with 1.8 per game. She has 20 this season and 11 in her last three games.
As a team, South Alabama also paces the SBC in that same category with 4.2 per contest. The Jags tied a season-high with seven against UTA.
Arkansas-Little Rock (9-2, 2-0 SBC) enters Monday night's game after picking up a 75-55 win at Georgia State on Saturday. The win was the third-straight for the program and fourth in its last five outings.
"Arkansas-Little Rock is just so in tune with their offense at that end of the floor," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "They really know what each player is doing and are just really in sync with each other. Defensively, they have always been tremendous. They are a man-to-man team. We're going to have to keep them off the offensive boards and limit their second-chance opportunities. For us on the offensive end, we've got to take care of the ball and knock down some shots, which we didn't do in our last game."
Taylor Gault and Alexius Dawn each recorded 21 points in the win to lead the way offensively for the Trojans against the Panthers.
Gault leads the Trojans with 13.4 points per game – ninth-best in the Sun Belt. Gault is knocking down 40.3 of her shot attempts, including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, to go along with 12 steals and 10 blocks. In her first two conference outings of the season, Gault has averaged 16.0 ppg.
Dawn, a JUCO transfer from South Plains College, is third on the team in scoring with 10.0 ppg, but through her first two league games, she has averaged 16.5 ppg. She is also averaging 3.3 assists per game and her .356 three-point percentage is eight-highest in the conference. Dawn has hit 13 of her 19 field goal attempts (.684) and five of her 11 three-point opportunities (.455).
Post players Shanity James and Kaitlyn Pratt have also been solid this season as they are averaging 10.5 ppg and 8.6 ppg, respectively. James is shooting 448.9 percent from the floor – fifth in the SBC – while Pratt leads the league with a 63.8 field-goal percentage. James also paces the club on the glass with 6.6 boards per outing.
As they have over the past several seasons, UALR continues to rank as one of the top defensive clubs in the Sun Belt and the NCAA. The Trojans rank second in the conference in scoring defense (54.7) and scoring margin (+7.1) and third in field-goal percentage defense (.339), turnover margin (+5.0) and steals (9.7). UALR also tops in the Sun Belt at limiting their opponents on the glass allowing just 34.5 rebounds to the opposition.
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Arkansas-Little Rock will mark the 23rd in the all-time series between the two programs. The Jaguars hold a 12-10 advantage in the series. The two teams split the two meetings last season with each holding serve on its home floor – USA (W, 61-56) in Mobile and UALR (W, 61-42) in Little Rock. Prior to the win versus UALR in Mobile, USA had dropped seven straight to the Trojans. South Alabama holds a 2-5 record in the series in games played in Little Rock and have dropped each of the last four meetings on the Trojans' home floor. The Jaguars are looking to avoid their first 0-3 start to conference play since the 2012-13 season. Along with the '12-13 season, USA has started 0-3 in the league just two other times (2006-07, 1999-00).
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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