Box Score - South Alabama 65, Troy 63 (.pdf)Post Game QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – Colby Davis scored with 1.6 seconds to give the University of South Alabama women's basketball team its third-straight win as the Jags closed the game on an 8-0 run, giving the USA a 65-63 win over Troy Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center. USA scored eight unanswered points and forced the Trojans into a pair of turnovers during the final minute, 32 seconds of the contest.
"Originally the play was for Erin [Autio], for her to shoot the three, but she wasn't open, so she trusted me to give me the ball and I just made a play out of it and hit the shot," Davis said of the Jaguars' final possession. "It was a great feeling, the crowd was into it, my teammates were into it. I just did whatever my teammates needed me to do, and they trusted me to give me the ball and I made a play."
The Jaguars (12-12, 8-7 SBC) will now head to Appalachian State for a single road game that will be aired on ESPN3. Tip-off versus the Mountaineers is set for 4 p.m. (CT) at the Holmes Center. Live stats and web streaming for the contest versus the Mountaineers can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-game updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.
The win for South Alabama was also its sixth in its last eight games and extended its home-winning streak to five. The five-game home-conference win streak is now tied for fourth-longest in program history. It is the first five-game Sun Belt home win streak since the 2011-12 season. The Jaguars are also now stand in fifth-place alone in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
"We got off to a slow start, but I was proud of how we came back and got back in the game; the key to that was we got back in transition on defense and slowed them down," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "We had the pace we wanted, we said the game needed to be in the mid- to high 60s. We gave up too many offensive rebounds — especially in the second half — and that continued to give them opportunities to score and gain possession. But our young ladies just kept fighting, we just hung in there. It was great for us to have the final shot and for Colby [Davis] to knock it down, although there were a lot of key plays in between that helped us along the way."
Erin Autio led all scorers with a career-high 19 points off the bench – 14 in the pivotal second quarter. Autio was 8-of-11 from the field with three three-pointers, while pulling down five rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Genesis Perrymond and Juliann Miller also ended the night in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Chyna Ellis just missed double figures with nine points and a team-high six rebounds. The sophomore finished the game with no blocks, marking just the third time this season that the 6-2 center has not recorded a block in a game. Coming into the game, Ellis had had at least two blocks in each of her last 16 games and ranked 19th in the NCAA in blocks with 2.83 per game.
Troy dropped to 12-12 overall and 7-8 in the Sun Belt and saw its two-game win-streak snapped with the loss. ArJae' Saunders led Trojans with 17 points, while also pulling down seven rebounds. Claresa Banks also chipped in with 13 points off the bench.
The Sun Belt's leading scorer, Ashley Beverly Kelley was held in check in the loss as she finished with nine points on 4-of-16 shooting. Beverly Kelley entered the game averaging a league-best 20.6 points per game. Beverly Kelley had recorded 20-plus points in four-straight games coming into Tuesday night's contest, including a 29-point outing on Saturday against Georgia State.
Another key stat in South Alabama's defense of Beverly Kelley was that the senior entered the game averaging a SBC-best 86.5 percent at the foul line, but she didn't have one free-throw attempt in the game.
The Trojans – which pulled down 52 rebounds – had two players finish in double figures on the glass. Caitlyn Ramirez grabbed a game-high 15 boards, while Kristen Emerson finished with 11, including eight on the offense glass.
After the two clubs exchanged baskets during the first minute-and-a-half of the contest, Troy rattled off a 10-2 run over a two minute stretch. Four different players scored for the Trojans during the run and Emerson gave the visitors the eight-point advantage with a layup at the 6:15 mark of the first. Troy came out on fire, hitting five of its first seven shot attempts.
USA was able to cut the deficit in half (12-8) a minute later after back-to-back buckets by Taylor Jenkins, but at the other end of the floor, Saunders converted an and-one opportunity to start another 10-2 run for the Trojans. Beverly Kelley knocked down a jumper at the foul line in transition to cap off the run and put Troy up 22-10 with two minutes, 34 seconds showing on the clock.
South Alabama was able to make a late rally in the closing minutes, picking up the final five points of the opening period of play. Ellis scored in the paint and then Perrymond got a three to bounce in just before the buzzer, cutting the deficit to 22-15.
Troy knocked down a pair of free throws to open the second quarter, but the Jags would answer back with an 8-0 run. Autio began the scoring with five-straight points – a jumper and a trey from the left wing at the 8:21 mark. On USA's next possession, it was Perrymond again with her second three of the contest, this one from the right wing narrowing the Trojan lead to one (24-23).
Troy would extend its lead back out to 28-23 with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter, but the South Alabama offense would come alive over the next three-and-a-half minutes. Autio caught the Trojan defense sleeping as she scored on an inbounds play, igniting a 14-0 run for the Jags.
During the run, Autio and Perrymond led the way, recording all 14 points – nine of which coming from Autio. Perrymond tied the game back up at 28-28 with her third trey of the night. The duo then helped the Jags take their first lead of the contest as Perrymond came up with a Trojan turnover and then fed Autio for a layup at the other end of the floor, giving USA a 30-28 advantage.
Autio later capped off the scoring for South Alabama with another trey and a baseline runner, extending the Jag lead out to 37-28.
Banks connected from the left corner with just over a minute to go to end the Jaguar run, marking Troy's first points in over three minutes. In the final seconds, Miller would knock down a pair of free throws for South Alabama and then Troy's La'Tia Fils-Aime got a basket to fall just before the horn, sending the two clubs into the locker room with USA holding a 39-33 advantage.
Jaguars shot 53.3 percent in the second quarter and knocked down four of their seven long-range attempts. Autio and Perrymond combined to record 22 of South Alabama's 24 points in the period. Autio was 6-of-7 from the field in the quarter and knocked down both her three-point shots. Perrymond was 2-for-4 from the arc in the quarter.
USA also forced eight Trojan turnovers in the second quarter, converting those into 16 points.
Coming out of the intermission, Troy quickly regained the lead scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter. After a free throw, Saunders scored the next four points for the Trojans and Beverly Kelley then recorded the next five. Beverly Kelley's three-pointer from the left corner at the 5:38 mark of the third and gave Troy a four-point lead at 43-39.
LaNeetra Guillory's bucket with just over five to go in the period ended the Trojan run and was USA's first points of the second half. A minute later, Miller would put South Alabama back out in front as the senior drove into the paint and converted an and-one opportunity after sinking a jumper in the lane. Miller's old-fashioned three-point play gave the Jags a 44-43 lead with four minutes, 15 seconds showing on the clock.
The two clubs exchanged threes over the next two minutes. Trailing by one with under two to go in the third, Saunders connected from the right corner and then on Troy's next possession, Banks' basket gave the Trojans a 51-47 lead.
South Alabama was just 3-of-14 in the quarter for 21.4 percent.
Holding a three-point lead (51-48) entering the final quarter, Ramirez scored Troy's first four points to extend the Trojan lead out to seven. The Trojan forward gave the visitors the 55-48 lead when she converted an and-one opportunity of her own at the 8:12 mark.
With less than seven to go in the contest, Autio made it a one-possession game as the redshirt freshman drained her third three-pointer of the night.
Troy would answer back though and extend its lead back out. Following another basket by Saunders, Amanda Mendoza connected from the right wing just as the shot clock expired. The Trojan possession was kept alive with three offensive rebounds. Troy entered the game ranked second in the conference in that category and had 24 offensive boards on the night.
The Trojans still led by six (63-57) with less than two minutes remaining in the contest after a pair of free throws by Banks, but the Jaguars refused to go away and the comeback effort started innocently enough as Davis hit one of two at the foul line at the 1:32 mark.
Following Davis' free throw, the Jags would get a defensive stop at the other end of the floor and with less than a minute to go, Davis – who tied a season-high with seven assists – found Miller open on the perimeter. The senior drained a three from the left wing with 57.8 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 63-61. At the other end of the floor, South Alabama's defense came up big again as it forced Troy to turn the ball over. USA took advantage of the extra opportunity and inbounding the ball along the right sideline, Miller found Autio cutting to the basket for a layup to tie the game back up at 63-63 with 16.5 showing on the clock.
"We had just talked to our team about this yesterday — in three-possession games we were 7-2, and in the two losses, we had the last shot and had good looks that just didn't go. To be in the same position tonight and make the shot was big for us," Fowler said. "We were going to take the last shot and win or go to overtime. The sideline out-of-bounds play — [assistant] Coach [Dan] Presel drew it up for them — is something we work on; Juliann [Miller] saw that play, saw Erin [Autio] come open and throws it on a dime and she sticks it in [to tie the game]. It was an outstanding job, I couldn't be happier for our kids."
With the shot clock turned off, Troy called its final time out and advanced the ball to midcourt. The Trojans looked as if they were going to have the final shot in regulation, but on the inbounds, the officials said that Ramirez was still holding the ball when Beverly Kelley made contact with it, giving the ball back to the Jags for one final shot attempt.
Out of time outs, South Alabama brought the ball into the half court and Davis was looking to get the ball to Autio. Troy's defense covered Autio up and with time beginning to wind down, Davis decided to drive towards the basket. With 1.6 seconds showing on the clock, the junior guard knocked down a six-foot jumper in the lane to give USA the lead. The Trojans were unable to get off a shot before the horn sounded.
Before her game-winner, Davis had hit just one of her six shot attempts in the game.
Troy was just 3-of-18 from the field for 16.7 percent during the final quarter. Troy also missed nine of its last 10 shot attempts over the final six minutes of the game.
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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