MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama's women's basketball team (5-7, 0-1) dropped its Sun Belt Conference opener 73-57 to Troy (8-4, 1-0) on Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.  A 24-3 Trojans' run in the fourth quarter secured the victory after the Jaguars led for most of the second half.
 
"I was very pleased with our team's effort, energy and passion," said head coach Terry Fowler.  "Straight from the beginning during warm-ups we were focused and ready to play. I thought we played a good three quarters. The fourth quarter it was a tie ballgame' it's like a 10-minute game in practice. Unfortunately, we had some turnovers that led to some easy buckets for them. That feeds right into their philosophy of what they like to do. We had plenty of opportunities to score against their press, which would have given us some cushion. We could have really put the pressure on them to come down and make shots. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way in the last 10 minutes of the ballgame."
 
Entering the second half leading 30-27, South Alabama quickly stretched its lead to eight points on a 7-2 run.  Chyna Ellis hit a pair of free throws on the first possession of the third quarter and then a layup before Genesis Perrymond made a three-pointer.  Troy then responded with its own 7-2 run.  The two teams traded baskets with Perrymond hitting two more three-pointers before ending the third quarter tied up at 45-45.
 
A jumper by Troy's ArJae' Saunders gave Troy the lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter.  South Alabama regained the lead at 50-49 with over seven minutes remaining after Ellis hit back-to-back baskets with a layup and jumper.  The Trojans then began their 24-3 run with 6:43 remaining in regulation.  South Alabama went just 1-8 from the field during Troy's run with eight turnovers.
 
Troy went 10-17 (58.8%) from the field and 4-7 (57.1%) from three in the fourth quarter, while South Alabama missed all five three-point attempts and went 5-15 (33.3%) from the field.
 
"We have to make those easy shots… layups, and we went 9-19 at the free throw line," said Fowler. "Those are the plays… that's it. The game was at the pace we really wanted defensively. They made their run and this game was going to be in the low 60s and that's right where we wanted it to be. Here's a game where they [Troy] want 100 shots a night. They got 79 tonight. We had the pace of play at how we wanted it.  We just have to make the easy shots. We consider those layups and free throws, but we weren't able to convert those with any regularity tonight."
 
Troy opened up the game on a 7-2 run, capitalizing on two early South Alabama turnovers.  South Alabama then went on a 12-3 run to take an early four-point lead.  The Jags capitalized on the fast break with two fast break layups by LaNeetra Guillory, Perrymond and Ellis.  Erin Autio added another layup as well, Camryn London made a pair of free throws after drawing a foul on a drive to the basket on the fast break, and Candice Williams hit a jumper.  The Trojans then went on an 8-3 run to get back the lead before Perrymond hit a layup to end the quarter.
 
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the second quarter.  Troy just went 3-17 (17.6%) from the field while South Alabama went 4-19 (21.1%).
 
Troy had the edge in rebounding (58-50), including 24 offensive boards.  The Trojans forced three more turnovers (25-22), and capitalized with 32 points off turnovers.
 
Perrymond scored a game-high and career-high 21 points on 8-12 (66.7%) shooting, including 4-6 from deep, and also had three rebounds and a steal and block.  Ellis had 14 points and nine rebounds and tied a season-high with five blocks.  Colby Davis and Williams both dished out a game-high four assists, and Davis also had seven points and seven rebounds.
 
South Alabama heads out of the state for the first time since Thanksgiving break with a game at Georgia Southern next Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT.
 
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).