Box Score - South Alabama 80, Georgia Southern 63 (.pdf)

STATESBORO, Ga. – Marquita Daniels recorded 25 of her game-high 33 points in the second half and the University of South Alabama women's basketball team shot a blistering 73.1 percent in the final period of play, en route to an 80-63 Sun Belt Conference victory over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.  

"Marquita [Daniels] just put us on her back [in the second half]," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "She made some big plays with her and-one and then her three-point shooting.  She was just amazing tonight.  It was a great team effort tonight as well, especially at the defensive end of the floor.  We really sank down and guarded well and for the most part controlled the boards until late in the game, but by then, we had the game pretty much in hand.  

"Marquita was able to get us some easy transition baskets in the second half and [Georgia Southern] had a tough time handling the pick-and-roll with both Marquita and Breanna Hall.  Colby Davis also had a game for us tonight like we know she's capable of having.  It was really good to see us play the way we did tonight, especially in the second half."

The 30-point outing was the second of the season for Daniels.  The freshman guard ended the night shooting 13-of-19 from the field and tied a career-high with four three-point buckets.  

Daniels was outstanding from the field during the second half as she 10-of-12 from the field and hit all three free throws. She also recorded three of her four assists in the final stanza.

As a team, the Jaguars connected on 19 of their 27 shot attempts and went 5-for-8 from long range in the second half.

The Jaguars (5-21, 2-15 SBC) will return home to host Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night.  Tip-off versus the Warhawks is set for 5:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center and will by USA's annual "Play4Kay" game.

Breanna Hall posted her fifth game of 20 or more points this season, ending the game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting.  The Mesquite, Texas, native was 5-of-8 from behind the arc and hit all three of her attempts in the second half.  Like Daniels, she also came up big in the second half, posting 14 points.  Hall has now recorded double figures 22 times this season and in 33 of her last 37 games.

The game marked the first time since South Alabama's 73-72 overtime win at Texas-Arlington (1/25/14) that the Jags had two players record 20 or more points in a game.  Ironically, that was also USA's last Sun Belt Conference road win. The win over the Eagles snapped South Alabama's 18-game overall road skid and was also ended a streak of 14 consecutive conference road defeats.

Chyna Ellis posted her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  The freshman post player also registered three of USA's six blocks.  Colby Davis also played a large part in the win, chipping with nine points and four steals against the GSU.  Daniels and Davis also led the club with four assists apiece.

South Alabama ended the night 29-for-60 from the floor for 48.3 percent, and tied a season-high with 10 three-pointers, while hitting 12 of its 15 foul shots.  USA also turned the ball over just 14 times, including just six during the final half.

"Tonight was the first time that we're really put it all together out on the court," Fowler said.  "We shot 80 percent from the foul line, played pretty good defense and didn't turn the basketball over."

Georgia Southern (4-21, 1-15 SBC) was led offensively by Patrice Butler's 24 points.  Butler was 7-of-16 from the field and hit eight of her 10 free throw attempts to go along with her team-high nine rebounds.  Also finishing in double digits for the Eagles was Anna Claire Knight who had 12 points.

Both clubs got off to a cold start shooting a combined 1-for-11 with five turnovers at the first media time out.

USA led 5-0 five minutes into the contest, but after missing its first nine shot attempts, Georgia Southern found its shooting touch and connected on its next seven attempts.  The Eagles scored eight-straight points to take their first lead of the afternoon and later led 16-9 after a basket by Knight with just over 10 minutes remaining.  

Knight and Butler provide most of the scoring early on for GSU, combining for 14 of the club's first 21 points.

Georgia Southern later stretched its lead out to double figures when Butler drained a three of her own at the 6:26 mark to put the Eagles up 11 (26-15) for her ninth point of the contest.  Butler would lead all scorers during the first period with 12 points.

Following the bucket by Butler, South Alabama would begin to chip away at the deficit.  Colby Davis connected from the left wing with just over five minutes to go, beginning a 7-0 run for the Jags.  

With just under three minutes showing on the clock, Daniels would knock down a trey of her own to trim the GSU lead to 28-25.

The Eagles extended their lead back out to seven (32-25) a minute later after a pair of free throws by Alexis Sams, but the Jaguars would again fight back as Ellis hit four-straight free throws of her own to pull USA within three again at 32-29 with under a minute to play in the half.

With 15.4 seconds showing on the clock though, Butler would get herself to the line and hit one of her two opportunities, which would give the Eagles a 33-29 halftime advantage.

The two clubs would earn their points in different areas during the first 20 minutes of action.  The Eagles recorded 18 of their 33 points in the paint, while USA connected on five of its 13 three-point opportunities.

Coming out of the locker room, South Alabama quickly grabbed the first four points of the second half and tied the game up at 33-33 on a runner in the lane by Hall.  USA would later take its first lead of the contest since early on in the opening period of play on a three-pointer by Hall from the right corner three minutes into the half when Daniels found the senior guard open on a baseline inbounds play to give the Jags a 38-37 advantage.  

A little over a minute later, it was Daniels connecting from long distance to put USA up by six (43-37).  The duo of Hall and Daniels led the charge early in the second half, combining for all of South Alabama's first 17 points of the period.  

Holding a five-point advantage (51-46) with 12-and-a-half minutes showing on the clock, the Jaguars broke the game open and extended their lead out to 19 with a 14-0 run over the next four-plus minutes.  Daniels added five more points to her tally during the run and Hall capped off the scoring and put USA up 65-36 with fifth three of the night with just over eight to play.

From there, the South Alabama lead would never fall below 15 as the Jags went on to pick up the 17-point win.  The 80 points by USA eclipsed the team's previous season best of 78 set against Georgia State back on Feb. 7.

NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia Southern marked the ninth in the all-time series between the two programs.  The win was the program's first-ever over the Eagles in the series in games played in Statesboro. Marquita Daniels recorded 25 of her game-high 33 points in the second half and South Alabama shot a blistering 73.1 percent during the final period of play.  Daniels was outstanding from the field during the second half as she 10-of-12 from the field and hit all three free throws. She also recorded three of her four assists in the final stanza.  As a team, the Jaguars connected on 19 of their 27 shot attempts and went 5-for-8 from long range in the second half.  Breanna Hall posted her fifth game of 20 or more points this season against the Eagles, ending the game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting.  The Mesquite, Texas, native was 5-of-8 from behind the arc and hit all three of her attempts in the second half.  Hall has now recorded double figures 22 times this season and in 33 of her last 37 games.  Like Daniels, she also came up big in the second half, posting 14 points.  The duo registered 39 of USA' 51 points in the second half.  The game marked the first time since South Alabama's 73-72 overtime win at Texas-Arlington (1/25/14) that the Jags had two players record 20 or more points in a game.  Ironically, that was also USA's last Sun Belt Conference road win. The win over the Eagles snapped South Alabama's 18-game overall road skid and was also ended a streak of 14 consecutive conference road defeats.  Chyna Ellis posted her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  The win also marked the first time this season that USA has rallied back to win a game when trailing at the half.  South Alabama had been 0-17 when trailing at the intermission prior to Saturday's win over the Eagles.

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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