MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (4-4) defeated Southern (2-4) 55-48 in the second of a four-game homestand on Monday night at the Mitchell Center. After trailing by seven points midway through the third quarter, South Alabama outscored Southern 32-15 in the last 15 minutes of the game.
"It was great to come back home to the Mitchell Center and get a win," said head coach Terry Fowler. "Hopefully we can take this and move on to the next two ballgames in the Mitchell Center. It just feels great to win tonight. I think the difference was in the second half, we didn't turn the ball over. We had four turnovers in the second half versus 11 in the first half. I think that was a big difference, and that we shot the ball a lot better. Defensively can't be more pleased with our group. We've been doing a good job on that end of the floor all year long. I hope this game can spearhead us to more scoring opportunities on the offensive end."
South Alabama's offense sputtered through the first half of the third quarter, and Southern capitalized to go on an 8-1 run for its second lead of the game after trailing almost 16 minutes of the first half. South Alabama missed all four field goal attempts and turned the ball over twice in the five minute span to allow Southern to lead 30-23.
South Alabama ended the third quarter on an 11-2 run. Chyna Ellis had back-to-back baskets with a layup and a jumper in the paint to cut the deficit to three. After Southern's Miaya Crowder made a jumper with 3:23 remaining in the quarter, Savannah Jones responded with a jumper of her own. Candice Williams then made her only shot of the game on the next possession, and LaNeetra Guillory gave South Alabama the lead for good on a three-point play after getting fouled on a made layup in the last possession of the quarter for South Alabama.
Jones hit a jumper and made a layup to start the fourth quarter for South Alabama. India Hall made a layup on a pass by Genesis Perrymond with 7:52 left in the game to give South Alabama a 40-36 lead. Perrymond then got a fast break layup after picking off a pass near mid court to force a Southern timeout.
Ellis then made two-straight layups, and South Alabama had its biggest lead of the game, 49-40 with a little over three minutes left. Southern made it a one-possession game with a quick 6-0 run by Skylar O'Bear on a three-pointer and three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point shot with 2:47 remaining. South Alabama's defense stopped Southern from scoring until allowing a layup with just one second left in the game. Perrymond and Colby Davis both hit a pair of free throws in the last 24 seconds of the game to secure the victory.
"I thought that once we got stops, we got a rhythm going and I have to tip my hat to Savannah Jones she really got us going with some great scoring opportunities," said Fowler. "We were able to settle down. Chyna took her time and had great composure. I think we passed the ball really well tonight and shared it. There multiple possessions where the ball touched all five players before we were able to score with easy baskets. We just have to build off this and be ready to play here Thursday."
South Alabama got off to a good start shooting the ball in the first quarter, shooting 66.7% (6-9) from the field and 75% (3-4) from behind the three-point line. Perrymond hit consecutive three-pointers on passes by Williams that gave South Alabama the lead just over a minute and half into the quarter. After a layup by Guillory, Perrymond added another two points on a fast break layup just over halfway through the quarter for a 10-2 advantage. Southern then went on its own run, scoring the next seven points.
Both teams struggled on offense in the second quarter with Southern outscoring South Alabama 9-6. After Davis hit one of two free throw attempts with 7:14 left in the first half, South Alabama didn't score the rest of the quarter while Southern managed to get three points to tie the game up at 22-22. Chyna Ellis appeared to make a buzzer-beating layup to end the quarter, but it was waved off after an officials' review.
South Alabama had three double-digit scorers: Ellis (13 points), Perrymond (13) and Jones (12). Ellis had a game-high three blocks and tied for a game-high nine rebounds. Perrymond dished out a game-high four assists and also had three steals and three rebounds. Jones was the only South Alabama scorer to shoot above 50% with more than one field goal attempt, going 5-9 (55.6%) from the field and 2-5 (40%) from three in addition to four rebounds and a steal.
Kennedi Centers grabbed five rebounds and had three assists and a block in 17 minutes off the bench. Erin Autio and India Hall both made their only field goal attempt.
South Alabama finished with the advantage in assists (13-8), blocks (7-3) and steals (10-3). South Alabama also outscored Southern in the paint (26-20) and in bench points (16-4).
South Alabama returns to action at home on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. game against William Carey.
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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