Box Score - Little Rock 47, South Alabama 34 (.pdf)Post Game QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team trailed by just two points at the half to Little Rock Wednesday night, but the Trojans used a strong defensive effort in the third quarter to pull away and defeat the Jaguars 47-34 in both teams' Sun Belt Conference opener at the Mitchell Center.
"We played against a championship caliber program that understands how to win," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "The challenge was their physicality. I thought in the first half we were able to play through some of it, and we got a couple of their best players in foul trouble; we had a little bit of a rhythm offensively, and defensively we slowed them down when we went to the zone. Coming out in the second half they made a few adjustments and got off a couple quick shots against the zone, which put us back into our man-to-man defense. We couldn't get the ball to go into the basket and we turned it over, and I think they did a much better job on the offensive boards in the second half as well.
"It's just a game we are going to have to learn from with a quick turnaround to play Arkansas State."
The Jaguars (4-6, 0-1 SBC) will continue league play on Saturday when they host Arkansas State. Tip-off versus the Red Wolves is set for 2 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. 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.
Second-half turnovers proved to be key for both clubs in the contest as South Alabama committed 11 miscues in the half, leading to 12 points for Little Rock, while the Trojans turned the ball over just three times during the final 20 minutes of play.
Little Rock (3-7, 1-0 SBC) also held USA to just 15 second-half points.
Taylor Jenkins led USA offensively with eight points off the bench. Chyna Ellis had six points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes of play. South Alabama's leading scorer Marquita Daniels was led to just three points.
The game marked the first time since last season's meeting in Mobile against Little Rock (1/19/15) that the Jaguars didn't have at least one player end the night in double figures.
Little Rock snapped a five-game skid with the win and held a 30-10 advantage in the points in the paint category. The Trojans also had 11 steals in the win, led by Alexius Dawn's seven.
The seven steals by Dawn marked the first time a South Alabama opponent has had seven or more steals in a game since Western Kentucky's Kendal Noble had eight in a game held in Bowling Green, Ky., back on Feb. 15, 2014. It also tied for the most by a Jag opponent in a game in the Mitchell Center, matching Florida International's Gergana Slavtcheva who did so on Jan. 29, 2000. Five of Dawn's career-high seven steals came during the final two quarters with three coming in the fourth.
Dawn and Monique Townson paced the Trojans with nine points apiece, while Sharde' Collins chipped in with eight. Kaitlyn Pratt led the club on the glass with nine boards.
Both teams struggled offensively through the first five-plus minutes of the contest, connecting on four of their first 15 shot attempts, but coming out of the under five media time out, Little Rock took grabbed the momentum as the Trojans rattled off a 12-2 run over a three-plus minute stretch. Six different players scored for Little Rock during the run and Dawn and Townson capped off the scoring with back-to-back steals and leading to layups to give the Trojans a 17-7 advantage.
After shooting 41.2 percent during the first quarter, the Trojans struggled to start the second, missing their first 10 shot attempts of the second period of play. The Jaguars would take advantage of the offensive slump by Little Rock.
Carrying over from a bucket by Genesis Perrymond in the final seconds of the opening period of play, South Alabama scored the first five points of the second quarter. Ellis trimmed the Jag deficit to three (17-14) with a bucket with just under five minutes to go before the half.
During the run, South Alabama's Jennifer Towne reached a personal milestone as she recorded the 1,000th point of her collegiate career. The Jonesboro, Ark., native knocked down a 12-foot jumper along the left baseline at the 8:26 mark of the second period to give her 1,001 points for her career. Towne was a three-year starter at North Alabama and scored 992 points for the Lions during that time.
Ronjanae DeGray snapped a streak of 11-straight missed shots by Little Rock with a layup with two minutes, 19 seconds showing on the clock, but the Jaguars kept chipping away at the Trojan lead and pulled within two at 19-17 when Erin Autio threw a beautiful pass from the top of the key into the paint for a layup by India Hall on South Alabama's next possession.
Townson hit a runner in the lane with under a minute to play to give Little Rock a four-point advantage, but Colby Davis hit a pair of free throws with 30.8 remaining in the half. Following Davis' free throws, the Trojans would miss their final shot and take a 21-19 advantage into the locker room.
Both teams struggled during the first 20 minutes of action as each shot just 29 percent.
Coming out of the intermission, South Alabama turned the ball over on four of first five possessions and Little Rock took advantage of the Jaguar miscues, scoring the first nine points of the period and extending its lead out to 30-19. Collins gave the Trojans the 11-point advantage with a basket at the 5:26 mark.
Jenkins finally got USA on the scoreboard in the second half with a layup with just under five minutes to play in the quarter.
Little Rock would continue to hold control for the remainder of the period, outscoring the Jaguars 15-5. Dawn sank a pair of free throws just before the end of the period after being fouled with 0.4 seconds showing on the clock, giving Little rock a 36-24 advantage.
After committing just eight turnovers during the first half, the Jags had seven in the third, leading to eight Trojan points. USA was also just 2-of-8 in the period.
South Alabama would only get as 10 the rest of the way before eventually falling by 13 to Little Rock.
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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