Game 14 - vs. Georgia Southern Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will welcome Georgia Southern to the Mitchell Center Saturday afternoon in a meeting of a pair of teams still in search of their first Sun Belt Conference wins of the season.  Tip-off versus the Eagles is set for 2:05 p.m.

Live stats and web streaming of the contest versus Georgia Southern can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.

South Alabama (3-10, 0-4 SBC) comes into Saturday's contest versus Georgia Southern after dropping its eighth-straight game of the season with a 67-63 loss to Appalachian State on Thursday night.

USA had a chance in the closing seconds to tie the game up with a pair of free throws, but was unable to convert those attempts and the Mountaineers held on to pick up the four-point win.

"We were definitely disappointed in the results of our last game, but I thought our team fought in that game coming off outing against Arkansas-Little Rock," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "I was proud of the fact that we fought.  We had every chance to win that game.

"Going into the Georgia Southern game, they pose some of the similar problems that Appalachian State did simply because of their sized.  We aren't sure about the health of a couple of our players.  Georgia Southern is big and run a lot of sets on offense and a couple of multiple defenses.  We will have to be ready for that.  Our biggest concern is their size though because offensive rebounding was a big factor in our last game against App State and I feel that could be a key area in this game.  We will have to do a good job of keeping them off the boards."

The Jaguars were without a pair of players in the loss as Taylor Jenkins and Grace Farnsworth both missed the contest due to injury.  The pair will be a game-time decision versus the Eagles.

Breanna Hall led all scorers in the loss with a career-best 28 points.  Hall was 7-of-14 from the field and hit 11 of her 14 attempts at the foul line.  

The senior guard leads the team and ranks third in the conference in scoring with 16.9 ppg.  Hall also ranks among the league leaders in free-throw shooting (T-4th – .833), three-point shooting (2nd – .444) and three-pointers per game (3rd – 2.3).  She is 19th in the nation in shooting from beyond the arc.

Hall has scored double figures in 23 of her last 26 games dating back to the '13-14 season and all but one outing this season.

Rachel Cumbo recorded her best outing of the season versus the Mountaineers as she dropped in a season-high 12 points.  Prior to the game versus App State, Cumbo had recorded just 13 points in her previous seven games.

True freshmen Marquita Daniels (7.2) and Chyna Ellis (6.5) rank second and third, respectively on the Jag roster offensively.  Ellis also leads USA and ranks ninth in the SBC in rebounds with 6.8 per game.  She is also tied for fourth in the league with Louisiana-Monroe's Sharnice Brooks with 1.6 blocks per outing.  In Sun Belt play, Ellis is averaging 8.3 boards and 2.0 blocks per game.

As a team, South Alabama in a three-way tie for second with ULM and Appalachian State in blocks (3.8).

Georgia Southern (3-9, 0-3 SBC) enters the game against South Alabama after falling 86-63 at Arkansas State on Thursday night.  

The Eagles trailed by just two at the intermission, but the Red Wolves shot 58 percent in the second half and outscored GSU by 21 points in the final frame to pull away for the victory.  

Georgia Southern has three players averaging double digits this season.  Angel McGowan leads the club in that category with 11.8 ppg – 14th in the Sun Belt.  McGowan also paces the Eagles with 27 assists and 21 steals.

Patrice Butler and Anna Claire Knight are close behind McGowan with 10.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively.  Butler is shooting 49.4 percent from the field – which is sixth-best in the SBC – and is pulling down 4.1 boards per game.

Knight – a preseason second-team all-conference selection – has started all 12 games and ranks second on the GSU roster with 5.2 rpg.  The senior guard led Georgia Southern with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists versus Arkansas State.

Sierra Kirkland's 5.3 boards per game rank 15th in the Sun Belt.  

Like the Jaguars, the Eagles have struggled this season at both ends of the floor.  The GSU offense is averaging just 61.8 ppg, while allowing 70.3 to the opposition.  Georgia Southern is shooting just 37.4 percent from the field, including 27.4 percent from three-point range.

The Eagles do rank second in the conference at the charity stripe, knocking down 72.3 percent of their attempts.  GSU has also done an outstanding job on the defensive glass as it is pulling down 27.4 defensive rebounds per game – second-best in the conference.

NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia Southern will mark the eighth in the all-time series between the two programs.  Georgia Southern holds a slim 4-3 advantage in the series.  This will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the 2006-07 season.  The Eagles on the last meeting, picking up a 54-48 win in Statesboro on 11/28/06. USA holds a 3-1 advantage in the series in games played in Mobile.

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—