Game 3: vs. Central Florida Game Notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team returns home Tuesday night to host Central Florida Tuesday evening at the Mitchell Center. Tip-off versus the Knights is set for 7 p.m.
Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.
South Alabama (1-1) comes into Tuesday evening's contest after suffering a 50-45 loss at Southern on Friday night. The Jaguars struggled offensively from both the field and at the foul line in the loss. USA shot just 31.5 percent from the field and hit just six of its 17 attempts at the foul line for 35.3 percent.
Marquita Daniels leads the club offensively with 14.0 points per outing, while the 5-7 guard is also pulling down 5.0 boards per game. Daniels is currently tied for seventh in the Sun Belt in scoring and tied for ninth in steals.
Redshirt freshman Genesis Perrymond has proved to be a consistent offensive threat thus far during the '15-16 season as she has scored double figures in both her outing this season. Perrymond is averaging 10.5 ppg and shooting 30.8 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Like Daniels, Perrymond has also been strong at the defensive end of the floor as she is sixth in the conference with 2.5 steals per game.
Chyna Ellis, a preseason all-SBC selection, paces the Jaguars on the glass and also leads the Sun Belt in that category with 12.5 rebounds per contest, which also ranks 17th in the NCAA.
Defensively, South Alabama leads the league in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 29.8 percent shooting. USA is also second in the SBC in scoring defense (49.5) and three-point defense (.240). South Alabama is 11th in field-goal percentage defense and 24th in scoring defense in the NCAA rankings.
Central Florida enters play this week with a 2-1 record on the young season. After falling at Nebraska-Omaha (75-60) in its season opener, UCF has bounced back with a pair of home wins, defeating Florida International (89-72) and Florida A&M (93-55).
"Central Florida is a team that is young, just like us," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "They are really athletic and have long length out on the wings. They also have big post players down low. UCF likes to play multiple defenses and they run a couple of different types of sets at the offensive end of the floor. They are a team that really likes to get after you defensively and they like to keep you off balance. Our main concern is going to be the multiple defenses that they are going to throw at us. We're going to have to be aware of how they change them and try to disguise them. We're also going to have to keep them off the boards and limit their transition game, because they do a great job of getting the ball up the floor quickly and turning those into easy opportunities."
The Knights picked up the 38-point win over the Rattlers in their last outing on Friday night and dished out 24 assists on their 34 made field goals. Central Florida shot over 50 percent in both halves and finished at 53.1 percent for the game.
UCF had seven players end the night in double figures against FAMU, led by junior guard Zykira Lewis' game-high 15 points and career-best five assists.
Lewis is averaging 13.0 points per game and knocking down 40.5 percent of her shots from the field, including 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. Lewis is also pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game and leads the club with nine steals.
Redshirt junior forward Josslyn Massey is coming off her first career double-double as she had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Purdue transfer is averaging a double-double through the first three games this season with 11.3 ppg and 10.7 rpg. She leads the club with a 59.1 field-goal percentage.
Ashley Polacek paces the club offensively with 14.7 points per outing. She is connecting on 53.1 percent of her shot attempts and her 38.5 three-point percentage also leads the Knights.
Alliyah Gregory, who flirted with a triple-double against FAMU, ranks third on the team with 12.0 ppg.
As a team, UCF is averaging 80.7 ppg, 44.7 rpg and shooting 46.3 percent from the floor.
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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