Box Score - Florida 72, South Alabama 60 (.pdf)Post Game QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball hung with Southeastern Conference foe Florida for a majority of the game Tuesday night, the Gators used an 11-1 second-half run to pull away and defeat the Jaguars, 72-60 at the Mitchell Center.
"I am very proud of our young ladies to respond from our game against Central Florida the way they did," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "We talked about three things going into this game. We talked about competing, staying together, and having a belief that we can do it, and I thought we accomplished all three of those things. This is something for us to build on from here on forward. After the Thanksgiving break, we had four knockdown, drag-out practices, and I think it paid off tonight. I think our young ladies understand what is required to be a successful program."
The 72 points marked the first time anyone has held the Gators below 82 points this season.
The Jaguars (1-3) will now head out on the road for a pair of games, beginning with Alabama State on Thursday. Tip-off versus the Hornets is set for 6 p.m. at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. 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.
Genesis Perrymond was one of two South Alabama players to end the night in double figures as she had 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the loss. All four of her field goals came from the three-point line.
Marquita Daniels also ended the night in double digits with 10 points to go along with her game-high four steals and two assists, while Colby Davis just missed double figures, finishing with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Davis also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Chyna Ellis led the club on the glass, pulling downs nine rebounds, while also chipping in with seven points.
Fellow sophomore LaNeetra Guillory also paced South Alabama defensively as she had three of the Jaguars' 10 blocks. The 10 blocks were the most by USA in a game since recording 12 against North Texas on Feb. 4, 2009.
The win for Florida was its sixth straight and improved the Gators to 6-1 on the year. Carlie Needles paced the club with 15 points in 36 minutes of action. Ronni Williams and Dyandria Anderson each recorded a double-double for UF. Williams had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulled down a game-best 12 boards. Anderson had 13 points and 10 rebounds of her own. Both Williams and Anderson each grabbed five offensive rebounds apiece.
Second-half shooting proved to be the difference for the two clubs. Florida shot 44.4 percent (16-of-36) during the final two periods, while USA shot 26.7 percent (8-of-30). The Gators also out-rebounded the Jaguars 33-17 in the second half.
The Gators got off to a slow start, missing their first four attempts and 12 of their first 13 from the floor. South Alabama took advantage and grabbed the momentum early on jumping out to an 8-3 lead a little less than three minutes into the contest. Daniels highlighted the early run for the Jaguars as she drained a three-pointer from the left corner and then dished out a behind-the-back pass to Colby Davis for a fastbreak layup to give USA the five-point lead.
UF cut the deficit to one after a bucket by January Miller at the 5:21 mark, but on South Alabama's next possession, Juliann Miller knocked down a 12-foot jumper along the right baseline and a minute Erin Autio converted two of her three free-throw attempts after being fouled on a three-point attempt with under four to go in the opening quarter.
The Gators later pulled within two (12-10), but after an India Hall basket and a Perrymond trey from the right wing, the Jaguars led 17-10.
Florida ended the first period with a basket and scored on two of its first three possession to open the second to again pull within one (17-16) after a pair of Cassie Peoples free throws.
A little over two minutes later, the Jaguar offense caught fire again, scoring on three-straight possessions. Perrymond ignited the South Alabama offense with her second three of the night. Davis then drove the lane and found Ellis open underneath for a basket and the junior guard then scored a layup of her own to give USA a 26-18 advantage with four minutes remaining in the first half.
Needles would spark UF's offense over the next three minutes as she scored nine-straight points for the Gators. The redshirt senior converted an old-fashioned three-point play and then connected from long-range twice. Anderson's bucket with one minute, 33 seconds showing on the clock again narrowed USA's lead to 30-29.
South Alabama again extended its lead out to five (34-29) after buckets by Ellis and Autio with under a minute to go, but Anderson sank a pair of free-throws with 36.7 left and Viktorija Dimaite's putback in the closing seconds sent the Gators into the locker room trailing 34-33.
The Jaguars knocked down 14 of their 28 shot attempts for 50 percent shooting during the first 20 minutes of action, while Florida was just 12-of-39 for 30.8 percent. UF held a 27-16 advantage on the glass in the first half.
Coming out of the locker room, Florida scored the first six points of the second half and took a 39-34 lead after an off-balanced layup by Anderson with just under seven minutes showing on the clock.
After missing its first eight shot attempts of the third quarter, South Alabama finally got on the board as Autio knocked down a three from the right wing at the 5:29 mark.
UF looked as if it were going to regain the momentum, but USA again answered back as Perrymond drained her third trey of the contest, this one coming at the 3:45 mark from the left corner to cut the deficit to 42-40.
Over the remainder of the period, Daniels attempted to keep the Jaguars in the game as she scored South Alabama's next five points. Daniels' jumper with 31.2 to go in the period trimmed the Gator lead to 47-45.
Florida didn't let USA pull any closer and over the final 25 seconds of the third quarter and for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the fourth, the Gators used an 11-1 run to break the game open. Carla Batchelor connected from the left corner at the 7:06 mark and Anderson's putback on UF's next possession capped off the run and put the visitors up 58-46.
The Gators did a lot of their damage inside the paint, scoring 32 of their points there and recording 16 second-chance points. Florida held a 57-35 advantage on the glass, including a 23-11 margin on the offensive boards.
During the pivotal Florida run, South Alabama missed its three shot attempts from the field and three free-throws. Missed free throws would be key in the Jags' upset attempt as they finished 10-for-23 at the charity stripe in the game and 7-of-15 at the line in the second half.
From there, UF maintained its double-digit lead en route to the 12-point victory.
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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