MOBILE, Ala. –The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will play the finale of a four-game homestand against NC State in the first ever meeting against the ACC school on Monday at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.  Spring Hill will face off against the men's team shortly afterwards the women's game.
 
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.
 
Fans attending the game can get your picture taken with Santa PAWS.  Santa PAWS will be located at the Waterman's Globe before and during the game.
 
The Jaguars are 2-1 on their current homestand.  South Alabama dropped the first game to Southern Mississippi 57-48 on Dec. 4th and then last week defeated Southern 57-48 on Monday and William Carey 62-39 on Thursday.  The Jaguars are 3-1 at home this season, beating Spring Hill 38-33 on Nov. 17.
 
Against William Carey, South Alabama 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.  Leading 31-22 at halftime the Jaguars went on a 9-0 run after allowing a basket in the first possession of the second half.  The Lady Crusaders trimmed their deficit to 10 with 6:09 left.  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' 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).
 
Colby Davis scored a game-high 15 points, pulled down six rebounds and had a game-high three steals.  Chyna Ellis was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points, and she also grabbed six boards and blocked a game-high three shots.  Genesis Perrymond dished out a game-high five assists in addition to five rebounds and five points.
 
NC State (9-3) dropped its last game at Tulane 63-58 on Saturday in its only true road game of the season after winning all four games in December at home.  The Wolfpack let a late lead slip away after leading for over 29 minutes during a fourth quarter in which Tulane outscored NC State 28-16 while shooting 9-15 from the field and 5-7 from distance.  The Wolfpack have gone 1-2 in neutral games, all in the Paradise Jam in the US Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving break.
 
All nine of NC State's wins have been by at least 14 points, and three or more players score 10+ points in all nine victories.  Before its game on Saturday, NC State ranked 20th in the nation in FG percentage defense (.340) and 19th in 3FG made per game (9.1).  Senior guard Miah Spencer leads the team in scoring (10.5 ppg), assists (4.2 apg) steals (2.2 spg).  Junior forward Chelsea Nelson is the only other teammate to average double-digit points (10.3 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg).
 
The Wolfpack just missed the NCAA Tournament last season and posted a 20-11 overall record, went 10-6 in the ACC, and swept local rivals Duke and North Carolina for the first time since the 1990-91 season.  NC State returns its top five scorers from last year: redshirt-senior guard Dominique Wilson (9.8 ppg this year), senior forward Jennifer Mathurin (9.5 ppg), senior guard Ashley Williams (7.4 ppg), Spencer and Nelson.
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
 
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).