MOBILE, Ala. – After opening the 2016-17 season on the road with two games in Florida the University of South Alabama women's basketball team will have its first home game on the year on Thursday at the Mitchell Center.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Fans can watch the game on JagNationTV.com, listen at http://995thejag.com/listen, or get updates on Twitter (@SouthALWBB) or live stats via USAJaguars.com.
 
"We're excited to be back home and play in the Mitchell Center," said head coach Terry Fowler. "Against Spring Hill we have another opportunity to get better."
 
The Jaguars dropped their first games of the year, losing to then No. 20/24 Florida 85-33 in Jacksonville, Fla. last Friday and at UCF 70-58 last Sunday. The Gators forced the Jags to turn the ball over 32 times and outscored them by at least 14 points in each quarter.  Against UCF the Jags had a 40-39 with 4:26 left in the third quarter, but the Knights outscored them 31-12 in the next 13 minutes to pull away with the victory.
 
"I thought the Florida game was a tough game for us," said Fowler. "Definitely didn't represent what type of team we feel like we can be. I thought we did respond in the UCF game, outside of having a rough third quarter. This team has always responded when its back is against the wall."
 
"Our motto is always to play to the best of your abilities on every night," said Fowler. "For us we have to improve defensively. I'd like to see us meet our goals on that end of the floor, such as limiting the opposing team to a low field goal percentage. We also need to share the ball more than we have done so far."
 
The scoring two games in the season has come from a variety of players, with five players averaging between 5.5-7.5 points a game.  Freshman Savannah Jones was the leading scorer against the Gators six points, going 2-4 from behind the three-point line.  Senior Colby Davis and junior Marquita Daniels both scored a team-high 11 points against the Knights. 
 
 Redshirt-sophomore Erin Autio scored nine points and had seven rebounds against UCF.  Coming off the bench she has been the leading rebounder with four offensive and six defensive boards for an average of five rebounds a game while also making a team-high five three-pointers.  Junior Chyna Ellis continues to be a menacing defender in the paint with two blocked shots against Florida and a game-high four versus UCF.  The Jaguars have shot 75% from the free throw line in both games (9-12 vs. Florida and 15-20 against UCF).
 
"The energy that Kennedi Centers and Erin Autio brought off the bench this past weekend was noticeable," said Fowler.  "They got out and competed hard for us.  I thought those two did an outstanding job for us.  Chyna Ellis had some spots and spurts where she played well."
 
The Jags will be looking to improve their impressive record in home openers.  In its 42 seasons of play, South Alabama holds a 33-9 record in home openers and are 13-4 in home openers at the Mitchell Center.  Last season's victory against Spring Hill (64-49) was also the home-opener for South Alabama.  The Jags lead the all-time series against the Badgers with a 30-3 overall series record, and Fowler as the head coach at South Alabama is 3-0 against Spring Hill.
 
Spring Hill enters the game with a 1-1 record, defeating West Alabama 55-54 in its season-opener at home last Friday and losing to Mobile 69-66 in overtime on Monday.  The Badgers were selected fourth out of seven teams in the West Division in the preseason coaches' poll.  Spring Hill is coming off a 10-16 overall record an 8-19 mark in conference play a year ago and returns all five starters and two other letterwinners.
 
Freshman Elise Reilly leads the team in scoring, averaging 18 points a game, and three-point shooting (7-15) while also tied for the team-lead in assists per game (2.5).  Junior Johnta Hughes is the only other double-digit scorer with an average of 11.5 ppg.  Redshirt-senior Leah Washington leads the team in rebounds (nine rpg) and blocks (seven).  Washington was named to the 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
"They're a team that runs a motion-type offense and set plays for quick offense.  They really do a good job of putting their players in positions that they can succeed at.  The shooters get in spots where they can get open looks, and they feed it inside for quality shots in the post. They'll play a bunch of man-to-man defense and have a very good amount of energy defending us. It'll be a challenge for sure because simply they just play real hard.  We have to be ready because this isn't a team we're going to take lightly by any means."
 
The Badgers played at Southern the day after their West Alabama victory, losing 68-53 in what counted as only an exhibition game for them.  This game against South Alabama will also count as an exhibition match for Spring Hill.
 
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).