Box Score -  South Alabama 66, William Carey 30 (.pdf)
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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team used a balanced offensive attack as seven players scored seven or more points, while the Jaguar defense held William Carey to 17.7 percent shooting Tuesday night in a 66-30 win over the Crusaders at the Mitchell Center.

South Alabama also pulled down 51 rebounds, 38 on the defensive glass, marking the first 50-plus rebounding game since grabbing 52 against Troy on Feb. 22, 2014.  Ellis paced the club with 10 rebounds, including eight on the defensive glass.

"It really felt good to get a win," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "We came out and wanted to set the tone on the defensive end of the floor, but we didn't start out with enough ball pressure; we talked about that at one of the timeouts and picked it up from that point.  We were able to get easy baskets in transition based off of our defensive effort.  We wanted to dominate the paint and get the ball inside, I think we did a good job of that.  It was good for us to see some different lineups — we got Marquita [Daniels] back tonight, which freed up the minutes of other guards, they weren't stressed as much.

"I was pleased with the effort, but we have to move forward as we go out to Grand Canyon."

The Jaguars (3-5) will now travel to Phoenix, Ariz., for their final non-conference game of the season.  USA will take on Grand Canyon on Sat., Dec. 19.  Tip-off versus the Antelopes is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at the GCU Arena.  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.

India Hall came off the bench to lead the way offensively for USA with a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes of action.  Led by Hall, South Alabama recorded a season-best 32 points off the bench in the win.  

Colby Davis just missed double digits as she had nine points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals.  LaNeetra Guillory, Ellis, Genesis Perrymond and Erin Autio each ended the night with eight points apiece.  Ellis also registered three of USA's seven blocks.  The Jags entered the game leading the Sun Belt in that category.

As a team, South Alabama was 25 for 54 from the floor for 46.3 percent, which included eight three-pointers.  William Carey made just 11 baskets on the night.

South Alabama broke an early tie with a quick 7-2 run midway through the first quarter.  William Carey got off to a slow start as the Crusaders hit two of first 11 shot attempts, while the Jaguars were 4-for-7 to begin the game.

Guillory began the run with back-to-back buckets and with less than five to go in the opening period of play, Davis connected from the right corner to give USA a 10-5 advantage.  

Seeing her first action in four games, Marquita Daniels entered the line up late in the first quarter and made a quick impact.  With two-and-a-half minutes to go, the sophomore guard recorded the first of her game-high five steals at half court and raced down for a layup.  The five steals tied a career-high for Daniels.  

Hall then recorded a pair of baskets in the paint to stretch USA's lead out to double figures (16-5) with just over a minute remaining.

Jadya Simmons' bucket just before the end of the first ended a string of eight consecutive missed shot attempts by the Crusaders.  William Carey had been just one for its last 14 over the previous eight-plus minutes prior to Simmons' basket.

The Jaguars continued to ride the momentum of the hot first-quarter start as they opened the second period of play on 11-0 run to extended the South Alabama lead out to 20 (27-7).  Five USA players scored during the run, which was highlighted by an and-one play by Davis at the 7:27 mark.   

Nijea Dixon knocked down a pair of free throws with just over four minutes to go in the period, marking William Carey's first points of the frame.  A minute later, Cortney Epting connected from the left wing for the Crusaders' first made field goal since the end of the first.  WCU had missed its previous eight shot attempts before Epting's three-pointer.  

USA didn't take long to respond as Daniels and Autio drained back-to-back treys and Guillory, who was 4-of-4 from the floor during the first 20 minutes of play, then converted a bucket in the paint to increase the Jaguar lead to 35-12 with two minutes, four seconds showing on the clock.  South Alabama held an 18-4 advantage in the paint in the first half over the Crusaders.  

A minute later Perrymond connected on South Alabama's sixth trey of the night, this one coming at the 1:02 mark to give USA its largest lead of the half at 38-13.

South Alabama gained the 25-point lead thanks in part to outscoring William Carey 22-8 in the quarter on 8-of-13 shooting –61.5 percent.

The Jaguars used a balanced offensive attack during the first half as five players had five points or more led by Guillory and Perrymond's eight points apiece.  Ellis also grabbed nine rebounds during the first half for the Jags.

As a team, USA was 15 of 28 from the floor for 53.6 percent, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, while holding William Carey to just 5-of-31 shooting for 16.1 percent.

William Carey scored on its first possession of the second half, but that would be the Crusaders' only made field goal of the third period.  WCU would go on to miss its next 14 shot attempts and not score another point until a free throw by Dixon with 56.3 seconds showing on the clock.

South Alabama would take advantage and rattle off a 15-0 run over an eight-and-a-half minute stretch and extend its lead out to 53-17.  After going scoreless in the first half, Ellis scored the first six points of the run.  Daniels then deflected a Crusader pass.  Juliann Miller came up with the loose ball and passed it up ahead for an uncontested layup by Daniels.  Hall later added four more points and capped off the scoring with a bucket in the lane with just under two to go in the period.

From there the Jaguars went on to lead by as much as 36 in the fourth quarter.

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—