Box Score - Texas-Arlington 63, South Alabama 46 (.pdf)Post Game QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team recorded just one made basket and three total points during an 11-and-a-half minute stretch during the first half Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars dropped a 63-46 decision to Texas-Arlington at the Mitchell Center. UTA outscored South Alabama 20-3 during that time.
"I was really disappointed in how we started the game — we were down 7-4, but you would've thought we were down 20-5. We hung our heads and from that point on we turned the ball over and it snowballed the rest of the first half," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "We gave up 13 points off turnovers in the first half and nine points off second-chance shot opportunities, that was 22 points right there; if you cut that in half, it's a ballgame.
"In the second half they came out and answered some of the challenges we gave them at halftime, we got it down to six turnovers and were able to attack their pressure. There were things we were seeing from the bench the entire time that we finally started executing it in the second half, so we were able to get baskets. In the half court our defense was pretty good, we forced three or four shot clock violations, but it was the points off turnovers that gave them easy scoring opportunities and they were tough to handle in the paint with their size as well."
The Jaguars (4-20, 1-14 SBC) will next head out on the road for a pair of games, beginning with Georgia State on Thursday night. Tip-off versus the Panthers is set for 4 p.m. (CT) at the GSU Sports Arena.
Breanna Hall led all scorers and was one of two Jags to end the game in double digits as she had 13 points – her 20th double-figure scoring effort this season and the 32nd time in her last 36 games in which she has done so. Hall also led the club with seven rebounds in her 34 minutes of action on the court.
Joining Hall in double figures was Marquita Daniels, who ended the contest with 11 points. Rachel Cumbo and Taylor Jenkins chipped in with eight points apiece.
South Alabama was 15-of-44 for the game for 34.1 percent and knocked down five of its 14 three-point attempts. The Jaguars also had a season-best eight blocks. Chyna Ellis led USA in that category with three of her own.
Texas-Arlington (13-10, 7-7 SBC) was led by Rebekah Van Dijk and Cierra Johnson, who each finished with 12 points each. Van Dijk was 5-of-11 from the field and grabbed six rebounds to go along with three assists, while Johnson was 5-of-7 and pulled down a game-high eight boards.
The Mavericks held a big advantage in a couple of different categories, outscoring USA 32-10 in the paint and 24-4 in the points off turnovers category. South Alabama had 18 turnovers, but just six after the intermission.
Texas-Arlington shot 41.7 percent from the field, connecting on 25 of its 60 field-goal attempts.
UTA jumped out to a 5-0 lead as South Alabama opened the game up by missing its first three shot attempts and by turning the ball over four times during its first seven possessions of the game.
Hall gave USA its first points of the contest with a jumper at the 16:39 mark. The senior guard would go on and record four of the Jags' next six points and pull South Alabama within one (9-8) after a pair of free throws with less than 13 minutes to play in the half.
From there though, the Jag offense would struggle as it would not record a point over the next five-plus minutes. The Mavericks would take advantage and rattle off a 10-0 run over a four-minute stretch and stretch their lead out to 19-8 after a pair of free throws by Van Dijk with seven minutes, 36 seconds showing on the clock.
Hall – who had eight first-half points for USA – ended the scoreless streak with another bucket at the 7:24 mark, but the Jaguars would continue to struggle as over the next six minutes, South Alabama would score just one point and miss four shots and commit two more turnovers. Texas-Arlington would again take advantage of the Jags' misfortune and extend its lead out to 18 (29-11) on Amara Wainwright's three-pointer from the right win with just over two minutes remaining before the intermission.
With time winding down at the end of the opening period, UTA came out of a time out and Krioni Bruce connected from the top of the key just before the horn sounded to send the Mavericks into the locker room with a 32-14 advnatage.
South Alabama struggled offensively during the first 20 minutes of play, connecting on just five of its 19 shot attempts for 26.3 percent, while also turning the ball over 12 times. UTA shot 40 percent in the first half and recorded 13 points off the Jaguar miscues.
After missing its first six shot attempts of the second half, the Jaguar offense found a brief spark as it scored six-straight points and cut the deficit to 38-25 with just over 13 minutes left.
Over the next several minutes though, USA would have multiple empty possessions. During that time, the Mavericks would extend their lead out to as much as 24 (50-26) on a three by LaShanda Green at the 8:42 mark.
Late in the game, South Alabama made one last charge, trimming the deficit to 56-42 on back-to-back treys by Hall and Daniels with four minutes, 26 seconds remaining, but that would be as close as the Jags would get. UTA went on to take the 17-point victory.
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Texas-Arlington marked the fifth in the all-time series between the two programs. UTA now leads the series 3-2 and has now swept the season series as well. South Alabama is now 2-22 in its last 24 Sun Belt games following the loss to the Mavericks. The game on Saturday against Texas-Arlington and USA's game at Georgia State this coming Thursday are part of the national "It's on US" campaign. With her 13 point outing against UTA, Breanna Hall posted her 20th double-figure scoring effort this season and the 32nd time in her last 36 games. The 46 points by the Jaguars marked the seventh time this season that USA has scored below 50 points. The eight blocks by the Jags against UTA were a new season-best.
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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