Game 27 - vs. UL Lafayette Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will welcome third-place UL Lafayette Saturday afternoon for its final home game of the regular season.  Tip-off versus the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 2 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.  Prior to tip off, USA will recognize its three seniors – Jennifer Towne, Juliann Miller and Taylor Jenkins.

"Taylor Jenkins is a young lady who our staff inherited and she has really bought into our philosophy and our system." South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "She has really laid a great foundation for our young players to follow.  It's just been an honor and a privilege to coach her.

"Juliann Miller, who transferred here to South Alabama when we got here, has just been an unbelievable leader.  She just works extremely hard and leads by example.  She has also found her voice in the locker room this season.  She is another person who has laid a solid foundation for our young players to follow."

"Jennifer Towne has been another senior voice in our locker room.  She plays hard.   She first joined our program as a graduate assistant coach this season, but she had an extra year of eligibility so she decided to play one more season.  We were fortunate to coach her during her freshman year at North Alabama.  I'm glad it worked out for her to finish out her collegiate career at the Division I level."

Live stats and web streaming for the contest versus the Ragin' Cajuns 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.  

South Alabama (13-13, 9-8 SBC) enters its final home game of the regular season tied with Troy for fourth in the Sun Belt standings.  USA currently holds the tiebreaker versus the Trojans due to sweeping the head-to-head matchup this season.

In their last outing, the Jaguars had their four-game win streak snapped by UL Monroe as the Warhawks picked up a 67-54 win in Mobile.  The loss also ended a five-game home Sun Belt win streak for USA.  ULM held a 14-rebound advantage in the win and also knocked down eight three-pointers, while holding the Jags to just two made treys.

"The one thing about our team is has done all season is answer the challenge after we've had disappointing losses.  I expect nothing different from our team on Saturday," Fowler said.  

Despite the loss, South Alabama remains one of the hottest teams coming down the stretch, winners of seven of its last 10 games.

Jenkins is coming off a career-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting against the Warhawks.  Jenkins is averaging 6.1 ppg and shooting a team-best 47.4 percent from the floor.

South Alabama currently leads the Sun Belt and is tied for ninth in the NCAA in blocks, averaging 6.0 per game.  The Jaguars are also 17th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.352), 42nd in three-point field-goal defense (.285) and 50th in scoring defense (58.0).  USA leads the league in field-goal defense, three-point field-goal defense and on the defensive glass (27.0).

South Alabama has 155 blocks on the season, which ranks as 18th-most in the NCAA.  With the 10 blocks against ULM on Thursday, the Jaguars moved to 155 on the year, tying the program mark set during the 2008-09 season.

Chyna Ellis is first in the Sun Belt and ranks 25th in the NCAA in blocks – sixth-most among sophomores nationally – with 2.73 per game.  Her 71 blocks this season have already surpassed her tally (56) her freshman single-season blocks record.  Ellis has recorded five or more blocks six times this season and in her 17 conference games, she is averaging 3.12 bpg.  She has had two or more blocks in 21 of her 26 games.

Ellis had 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks against ULM, but was limited to just 15 minutes of playing time as she was plagued by foul trouble for most of the game.  

Should USA get into foul trouble again, Fowler will look to his guards to help out on the glass.

"The big thing for us coming into this game is that our guards are going to have to help our bigs on the glass," Fowler said.  "Over our last two or three ball games, our bigs have just been in foul trouble.  We have to address that issue so we can take advantage of our size advantage on the boards."

UL Lafayette (18-8, 11-6 SBC) comes into this weekend's contest versus the Jags sitting in third place in the SBC standings.  The Ragin' Cajuns fell 90-83 at Troy in their last outing.  ULL trailed by 11 at the half, but battled back in the second half, eventually took a three-point lead with a little over three minutes remaining in the game.  The Trojans didn't miss from the field or the line in the final three minutes, hitting their last six field goals and their last five free throws to pick up the seven-point win.

Senior guard Keke Veal led the way offensively for UL Lafayette in the loss as she finished with a career-high 34 points as she was 10-of-21 from the field with four three-pointers and 10-of-12 at the charity stripe.  Veal scored or assisted on 16-straight Cajun points to put ULL up, 68-66, early in the fourth quarter.  Veal's 34 points were the most scored by a player in the league this season and the most points by a Cajun since the '11-12 season.

The 5-6 guard ranks among the SBC leaders in scoring (fourth – 16.6 ppg), steals (tied for third – 2.2) and free-throw shooting (ninth – .713).  

ULL has been without its second-leading scorer and all-Sun Belt performer Jaylyn Gordon (14.9 ppg) over the last nine games.  In her absence, the Ragin' Cajuns have gone 3-6.

Perhaps the most versatile player for UL Lafayette is senior guard Kia Wilridge.  Wilridge ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in several different categories.  The 5-5 guard is 12th in scoring (11.7), 18th in rebounding (5.2), 10th in assists (2.8), 14th in field-goal percentage (.426) and seventh in minutes per game (32.5).  Wilridge nearly recorded a triple-double against Troy as she ended the night with 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Simone Fields (8.2 ppg) is knocking down 51.9 percent of her shot attempts, which ranks fifth in the SBC.

UL Lafayette has been one of the top defensive clubs in the Sun Belt and the NCAA.  ULL is holding opponents to 56.2 ppg, which is third in the league and the top 30 nationally.  

The Cajuns are also second in the conference in scoring margin (+7.6) and turnover margin (+6.0), and third in both field-goal percentage (.415) and rebounding defense (34.3).

ULL is eighth in turnover margin and 22nd in turnovers forced in the NCAA, forcing (19.9).  Their 13.9 turnovers per game are also 21st nationally.   

UL Lafayette won the first meeting between the two clubs earlier this season, defeating South Alabama 69-50 at the Cajundome.  The Ragin' Cajuns connected on 30 of their 59 shot attempts for 50.8 percent, doing most of their damage in the paint, outscoring USA 44-26 in that category.

Ellis recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the field in 28 minutes of action.

The Jaguars struggled to find their offensive touch for much of the game, ending the night just 19-of-52 from the floor for 36.5 percent.

ULL placed three players in double figures led by Gordon's 14 points, who also had five rebounds, five assists and three steals.  Wilridge – who was 5-for-8 from the floor – added 12 points, while Veal had 10.   

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—