Box Score - South Alabama 68, Appalachian State 54 (.pdf)

BOONE, N.C. – Marquita Daniels recorded a game-high 19 point to help the University of South Alabama women's basketball team pick up its fourth-straight win Thursday night as the Jaguars defeated Appalachian State, 68-54 at the Holmes Center.

The Jaguars (13-12, 9-7 SBC) will return to action next Thursday when they welcome UL Monroe to the Mitchell Center.  Tip-off versus the Warhawks is set for 5 p.m.  Live stats and web streaming for the contest versus the Warhawks 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 game also completed a stretch of four games in eight days for South Alabama and with UT Arlington's loss earlier in the day, moved the Jags into fourth place in the Sun Belt standings.  The four-straight conference wins are the most since the 2011-12 season.  USA has now won seven of its last nine outings and since starting 0-3 in conference play, the Jags have gone 9-4 in their last 13 Sun Belt games.

Daniels was one of three Jaguars to end the night in double figures as she was 7-of-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.  The five treys were a new career high for the Atlanta, Ga., native.  The double-figure outing by Daniels was her 13th of the season.

Joining Daniels in double figures for USA were Colby Davis (15) and Erin Autio (11).  Davis was 5-of-8 from the floor and hit four of her five attempts at the foul line, while Autio was 3-for-4, including 2-of-2 from the three-point line, and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe in the win.  

"It just shows the toughness and character of this team," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said of his team winning four games in eight days.  "Coming into tonight after the three games at home and then the travel yesterday to get here, we talked about the need for us to be focused on what we needed to do to win this game.  We were able to come out and execute the game plan about as well as we could have expected to.  We were able to dominate the glass like we wanted to and just ran our offense to a 'T'."

As a team, South Alabama shot 45.5 percent from the field and connected on nine of its 14 long-range attempts.  USA also held a 40-29 advantage on the glass.  The Mountaineers (8-16, 5-10 SBC) entered the game leading the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding with 41.0 per game.

Chyna Ellis just missed double digits, finishing the game with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.  

Keke Cooper and Madi Story led Appalachian State offensively with 13 points apiece, while Joi Jones added 11.  Cooper also posted her fourth double-double of the season with 11 boards and she was 6-of-11 from the floor.

The Mountaineers were 20-of-57 from the field, but hit just one of their nine three-pointers.  App State also had 13 steals with four each coming from Bria Carter and Cooper.  

Cooper – who had six of App State's 10 points – tied the game up (10-10) with a bucket at the 2:24 mark of the first quarter, but over the final two minutes of the period, the Jaguars would reclaim the lead.  Daniels began a 10-1 run for South Alabama with a layup with one minute, 42 seconds remaining in the quarter.  Juliann Miller then knocked down one-handed floater in the lane on USA's next possession.

LaNeetra Guillory kept the scoring going for the Jags with under a minute to go as the sophomore knocked down her first career three-pointer from the top of the key.  USA would get a defensive stop at the other end of the floor and with time winding down, Daniels – who had 10 first-half points – launched a shot from 60-feet away and drained it as the horn sounded.  Daniels bucket capped off the run and gave the Jaguars a 20-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

"I thought early in the first quarter we weren't getting the stops we needed to at the defensive end of the floor," Fowler said.  "Towards the end of the period, we were able to get some stops.  I also think that Marquita's three-quarters court shot at the end of the quarter just gave us the boost of energy that we needed and we were able to carry that throughout the rest of the game."

South Alabama shot 66.7 percent during the first 10 minutes of action, connecting on eight of its 12 field-goal attempts.  

With the Jaguars still holding a nine-point lead, Davis recorded four-straight points for South Alabama to stretch the visitor's lead back out to double-digits.  The junior guard hit one of two at the foul line at the 5:38 mark and then a little over a minute later, she knocked down a three from the right wing to extend USA's lead to 31-19.

App State would trim the deficit to single figures with under two minutes remaining in the first half on a foul shot by Jasmine Ogunjimi, but with just over a minute to go, Autio would extend it back out to double figures with five quick points.  The redshirt freshman knocked down South Alabama's fifth trey of the first half and then after using a head fake, she drove past the Mountaineer defender for a layup to put USA up 36-22 at the break.

Appalachian State hit just one of its last 10 shots in the second quarter and finished the period 3-for-12 for 25 percent.  The Mountaineers shot just 29.6 percent during the first two quarters of play.

South Alabama connected on 14 of its 27 field-goal attempts (51.9 percent) and was 5-of-8 from long range.  

With just over four minutes to go in the quarter, Jones' three-pointer cut the South Alabama advantage to eight (45-37), but that would be as close as the Mountaineers would get the rest of the way.  

USA would close out the period on an 11-0 run over the final three-plus minutes of the third.  Autio and Daniels began the run with back-to-back treys.  The Jags' next five points would come from the foul line as USA hit five of its six attempts at the charity stripe to close out the run.

In the fourth, South Alabama put the game away and pushed its lead out to as much as 22 on two occasions, the last coming with less than six to play after a jumper by Taylor Jenkins.  

App State ended the game on a 10-3 run following Jenkins' basket to cut the final margin to 14.

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).

—USA—