Game 9: at Grand Canyon Game Notes (.pdf)

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule Saturday night when the Jaguars travel to take on Grand Canyon.  Tip-off versus the Antelopes is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at the GCU.

"The number one thing for us right now is that we are starting to get healthy again," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "As we get ready to head into Sun Belt play, we need to finish our non-conference play out with high energy and execution.  Grand Canyon is a team that plays really hard.  They have the ability to score the basketball and we are going to have to shut that aspect of their game down.  I'm looking for our energy level though to be at an all-time high as we take the Christmas break."  

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.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs and the first time since the 2007-08 season that South Alabama has faced a team from the Western Athletic Conference.  In that meeting, USA defeated Missouri-Kansas City, 69-56 in the consolation round of the Fifth Annual odwalla Classic in San Francisco, Calif.

South Alabama enters Saturday night's game versus the Antelopes after defeating William Carey 66-30 on Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.  In the 36-point win, USA scored a season high in points and connected on a season-best 46.3 percent of its shot attempts.  

The Jaguar defense held William Carey to just 17.7 percent shooting.  The Crusaders didn't shot over 20 percent in either half,

Leading scorer Marquita Daniels (9.6 ppg) returned to action after missing the previous three games due to injury.  Daniels had seven points off the bench, dished out three assists and tied a career high in steals with five in 22 minutes of action.  Daniels has 13 steals in five games this season.  

South Alabama used a balanced offensive effort in the win over the Crusaders with seven players scoring seven or more points.  True freshman India Hall paced the club with a season-high 10 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting.

Redshirt freshmen Genesis Perrymond and Erin Autio are having solid first seasons in a Jag uniform.  Perrymond is second on the club with 8.4 ppg and has 12 three-pointers and a 31.6 percentage from behind the arc.

Autio is averaging 6.3 points per outing and knocking down 36.4 percent of her long-range attempts.  In South Alabama's last two games, Autio is averaging 12.0 ppg and shooting 56.3 percent from the field.  The 6-0 forward has also connected on six of her 12 three-point attempts during that stretch.

The Jaguars recorded seven blocks in the win and continue to lead the Sun Belt with 46 blocks and a 5.8 bps average.  USA also ranks 21st in the NCAA in that same category.

USA also ranks 29th in field-goal percentage defense (.341) and 48th in scoring defense (55.6).  South Alabama leads the SBC in field-goal defense and is second in scoring defense.

Grand Canyon comes into the contest with a 5-6 overall record on the season.  In their last outing, the Antelopes won their third-straight contest with a 58-53 road victory over UC-Irvine on Monday night.

GCU trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter, but the Lopes outscored the Anteaters 23-12 in the final period of play to complete the five-point victory.

Dana Jones led the way as she recorded her first career double-double with a team-high 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.  Led by Jones, Grand Canyon held a 49-32 advantage on the glass.

The game against the Jaguars will be the first home contest for Grand Canyon in nearly a month.  The Antelopes last home game came back on Nov. 19, a 77-40 win over Western State.  GCU's last eight games have come away from the GCU Arena.

GCU has three players averaging over double figures – Cheynne Hendrington, Jessica Gajewski and Courtney Hayes – while Dana Jones sits just outside double digits with 9.6 points per outing.  Hendrington leads the club in that category with 12.1 ppg and also paces the team on the glass with 7.5 rpg.  Hendrington is also knocking down 42.9 percent of her shot attempts.

Gajewski (11.0 ppg) is the top long-range threat for the Antelopes this season as she has knocked down 22 treys.  

Hayes, who is also averaging 10.5 ppg, has dished out 61 assists on the season for an average of 5.6 per game.  Hayes currently ranks first in the WAC and would rank among the top 30 nationally if Grand Canyon weren't reclassifying this season.  

The senior guard also has 29 steals this season for a 2.6 per game average.

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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