MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (5-4) defeated William Carey (3-5) 62-39 in the third of a four-game homestand on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.  The Jaguars outscored the Lady Crusaders in each quarter and led for all but 37 seconds of the game for the largest margin of victory in the 2016-17 season.
 
"It's good to have a winning feeling, especially at home playing in the Mitchell Center," said head coach Terry Fowler.  "Anytime you play this type of game, coming off a tough Southern game and then we've got North Carolina State on Monday, and this game is in the middle of that it's kind of like a trap game.  You want to play your best and sometimes it's difficult to do in these situations.  I thought in the first half we turned the ball over too much.  I thought we corrected that in the second half and gave us opportunities to score more."
 
Leading 31-22 at halftime South Alabama went on a 9-0 run after allowing a basket in the first possession of the second half.  Chyna Ellis knocked in a jumper off an offensive rebound in the Jaguars' first possession of the half to start the run.  Four different players then contributed in the run that went almost four minutes long.  Kennedi Centers made a layup off a Candice Williams pass, Williams then hit a jumper, India Hall made the second of two free throw attempts and Colby Davis made a pair of free throws. 
 
William Carey limited South Alabama to just three points in the last half of the third quarter.  Ellis made a layup before Camryn London hit a free throw with 2:38 left, and the Lady Crusaders weren't able to capitalize on the Jags' scoring drought with just five more points scored in the quarter.
 
The Lady Crusaders trimmed their deficit to 10 at the 6:09 mark on a jumper by Adicia Yarbrough and pair of free throws by Teshia Jones.  That would be the closest William Carey would get in the rest of the game as South Alabama ended the game outscoring its opponent 17-4.  The Jags forced the Lady Crusaders into a scoring drought that lasted four minutes and 46 seconds on a 10-0 run.  All 10 points were either in the paint or on free throw attempts.  The Jags ended the game on four-straight layups, including three times with a Jaguars' player fouled on the made shot.
 
South Alabama began the game on a 14-3 run in the first half of the first quarter.  Davis started the scoring with a layup after extending the first possession of the game on an offensive rebound.  Ellis made a layup on the next trip on the offensive end, Genesis Perrymond hit a three-pointer on a pass by Williams, and LaNeetra Guillory hit a jumper at the free throw line to give the Jags points in each of its first four possessions of the game.  South Alabama's lead quickly grew to 11 after Erin Autio hit a three-pointer and Davis made another layup on passes by Perrymond.
 
William Carey ended the first quarter on a 7-3 run.  Latia Pullum hit a three-pointer with 4:48 remaining in the quarter for the Lady Crusaders' first field goal of the game.  After Davis made her third-straight layup, William Carey made two pairs of free throws to close out the quarter.
 
The second quarter was the closest action of the game with South Alabama just outscoring William Carey 15-12.  Once again the Jags got off to a good start in the quarter.  After William Carey's Savannah Richardson made a basket in the first possession of the quarter, South Alabama went on a 7-0 run.  Davis made a pair of free throws in the next possession after drawing a shooting foul on a drive to the basket and then made a three-pointer a little over a minute later.  Ellis capped the run with a layup.
 
The Lady Crusaders responded with an 8-2 run of their own.  The Jags were able to push their lead to nine points after London and Perrymond both made two free throws and Alyese Givens made a layup.
 
The Jags' limited the Lady Crusaders to 24.5% shooting (12-49) from the field and 18.8% (3-16) from three.  South Alabama finished with a distinctive edge on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 48-30.  The 24 offensive rebounds helped the Jags outscored the Lady Crusaders in points in the paint (28-6), points off turnovers (22-9) and second chance points (22-5).
 
"Coming into the game we talked about getting the ball into the paint," said Fowler.  "We were able to use that.  That was an advantage we knew we had going into the game, but still it wasn't to the level we needed it to be tonight. So once again we need to continue to improve on that, but I'm pleased about the rebounding.  We did an outstanding job of owning the boards, and so that's good…but we've got to be able to score the ball once it comes into the paint for us."
 
Davis scored a game-high 15 points, pulled down six rebounds and had a game-high three steals.  Ellis was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points, and she also grabbed six boards and blocked a game-high three shots.  Perrymond dished out a game-high five assists in addition to five rebounds and five points.  Williams had seven points, four assists and just one turnover.
 
South Alabama concludes the homestand against NC State on Monday at 5:30 p.m.  The game is part of a doubleheader with the men's team facing Spring Hill shortly afterwards.
 
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).