Game 26 - at Georgia Southern game notes (.pdf)STATEBORO, Ga. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will close out its two-game road swing at Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off versus the Eagles is set for 3:30 p.m. (CT) at Hanner Fieldhouse and can be seen on ESPN3.
Live stats and the Jaguars' audio broadcast as well as a direct link to the ESPN3 broadcast for the contest versus Georgia Southern can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama (4-21, 1-15 SBC) comes into Saturday's game looking to snap a six-game skid. On Thursday, USA dropped a 69-54 decision at Georgia State. The loss was the 18th-straight road loss for the club and the 14th consecutive league road defeat.
The Jaguars pulled within six with just over three minutes remaining, but the Panthers closed out the game on a 9-0 run to seal the 15-point win.
Breanna Hall led all scorers with 26 points - 16 coming in the final period of play - as she connected on nine of her 13 shot attempts. The 26 points marked fifth 20-point outing for the Jag senior this season. Hall has now recorded double figures 21 times this season and in 33 of her last 37 games.
Hall leads the team and tied for fourth in the conference in scoring with 15.7 ppg. The Mesquite, Texas, native also ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (13th – .437), free-throw shooting (3rd – .819), three-point shooting (1st – .426) and three-pointers per game (T2nd – 2.4). Hall also ranks among the NCAA leaders in three-point shooting, coming in at 20th in the most recent statistics.
Freshman post player Chyna Ellis also ended the night in double figures versus GSU, registering 15 points and eight rebounds. Ellis is averaging 7.7 points per game and ranks sixth in the league on the glass with 7.2 rpg. Ellis also leads the team with 42 blocks on the year and her 1.8 blocks per game are fourth-best in the SBC.
As a team, USA is third in the Sun Belt in blocks with 4.0.
Marquita Daniels (8.4 ppg) has been solid at the defensive end of the floor. The Atlanta, Ga., native leads the club with 43 steals. Daniels had three takeaways versus the Panthers and has now registered 34 of her steals against league foes and is averaging 2.1 per game in her 16 Sun Belt games.
Georgia Southern (4-20, 1-14 SBC) also enters Saturday's game coming off a loss and riding an 11-game skid after falling 99-93 at home in overtime to Troy on Thursday evening.
"Georgia Southern is coming off a hard-fought overtime loss against Troy," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "We expect to get their best effort. Coming into this game, you have two teams starving for a victory. It's going to come down to who wants it the most."
Troy's Caitlyn Ramirez sent the game into an extra period with a put back with 0.9 on the clock in regulation, and Ashley Beverly-Kelley scored 46 points as the Trojans rallied back to take the six-point win.
Angel McGowan led five Eagles in double figures with 23 points to go along with a career-high seven assists, five rebounds and four steals in the loss. Alexis Sams scored a career-high 18 points, and Anna Claire Knight finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
Georgia Southern's lone conference win came against the Jaguars in Mobile (67-53) back on Jan. 10. The Eagles led by as much as 33 in the second half, but USA scored the final 18 points of the game over the last five minutes of the contest to cut the final margin to 15.
Patrice Butler (17), Knight (15) and McGowan (14) each recorded double digits in the first meeting with USA. The trio of McGowan, Butler and Knight are all averaging double figures on the year.
"Since our first meeting, Georgia Southern has moved Anna Claire Knight to the four position, which for them puts a big guard playing against a true post player. That will be a difficult match up for us," Fowler said. "They play multiple defenses, but they have simplified things and just staying with what has been working for them lately.
"They still have a great inside presence with Butler. She also has the ability to take you out on the perimeter and knock down the three."
McGowan (13.8 ppg) is ranked 10th in the league in scoring and assists, while also ranking among the conference leaders in free-throw shooting (14th) and steals (13th). She is knocking down 74.5 percent of her attempts at the charity stripe and leads the club with 39 steals.
Butler is 16th in the Sun Belt offensively with 11.6 points per outing and knocking down 47.6 percent of her shot attempts, which is seventh-best in the league. Knight is right behind Butler with 11.3 ppg and sits in 17th-place in scoring.
As a team, the Eagles are second in the SBC in three-pointers per game (5.7), defensive rebounding (26.7) and three-point field-goal defense (.300).
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia Southern will mark the ninth in the all-time series between the two programs. Georgia Southern holds a slim 5-3 advantage in the series. The Eagles took the earlier meeting between the two clubs this season, defeating the Jags 67-53 in Mobile back in January. GSU holds a 3-0 advantage in the series in games played in Statesboro. USA has now lost its last 18 road games (14 Sun Belt road games) and 26 of its last 27 away from the Mitchell Center dating back to the end of the 2012-13 season. The Jaguars are 2-23 in their last 25 Sun Belt games following the loss to Georgia State.
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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