Game 28 - at UT Arlington Game Notes (.pdf)

ARLINGTON, Texas – As the University of South Alabama women's basketball team prepares for its first postseason trip in three years, the Jaguars will close out the regular season this week with a pair of road games in Texas, beginning with UT Arlington on Thursday night.  Tip-off versus the Mavericks is set for 5 p.m. at the College Park Center.  

"This is a big week for us as we head out on the road for two tough opponents," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "One thing our team has done on the road this year is be more focused.  We've been able to watch more film and just get more mentally prepared for the games.  I expect us to be focused and ready to go on Thursday night."

Live stats and web streaming for the contest versus the Mavs 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 (14-13, 10-8 SBC) comes into Thursday night's game against the Bobcats after defeating third-place UL Lafayette (68-59) over the weekend.  USA enters play this week tied with Troy for the fourth seed in next week's Sun Belt Championships to be held in New Orleans, La.  The Jags currently hold the tiebreaker over the Trojans due to sweeping the head-to-head match ups this season with Troy.

Marquita Daniels recorded a season-high 26 points, leading South Alabama to its 10th Sun Belt Conference victory of the season.  The 10 league wins are the most for the club since the '12-13 campaign.

Daniels got off to a hot start, recording 16 of her 26 points in the first half.  The sophomore finished the game 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down eight of her 10 attempts at the free-throw line in a career-high 35 minutes of action.  She also chipped in with six rebounds, three assists and five of USA's six steals.

Daniels is 16th in scoring with 11.5 ppg and tied for fourth in steals with 2.2 per outing.  The Atlanta, Ga., native has recorded double figures in eight of her last 11 games.  Her 52 steals this season are tied with former Jag great Orphie Moore for fifth on USA's sophomore single-season steals list.  Daniels is averaging 3.2 steals per game in her last six outings.

South Alabama currently leads the Sun Belt and is tied with Dayton for ninth in the NCAA in blocks, averaging 6.0 per game.  The Jaguars are also 19th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.351), 50th in three-point field-goal defense (.281) and 55th in scoring defense (58.1).  USA leads the league in field-goal defense, three-point field-goal defense and on the defensive glass (27.2).

USA has 162 blocks on the season, which ranks as 13th-most in the NCAA.  With their seven blocks against UL Lafayette (2/27), the Jaguars set a new program mark, eclipsing the previous one (155) set during the 2008-09 season.

Chyna Ellis is first in the SBC and ranks 21st in the NCAA in blocks – fifth-most among sophomores nationally – with 2.74 per game.  Her 74 blocks this season are 19th-most nationally and 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 18 conference games, she is averaging 3.11 bpg.  She has had two or more blocks in 22 of her 27 games.

Ellis nearly recorded a double-double against ULL as she ended the game with nine points and a season-high 14 rebounds to go along with her three blocks.

Senior forward Taylor Jenkins has also played well in her last two outings, recording a career-best 13 points in each contest and shooting 61 percent (11-of-18) from the field in those two games.

UT Arlington (14-14, 9-9 SBC) pulled within one game of South Alabama and Troy Tuesday night as the Mavericks picked up a 78-69 victory over Texas State in Arlington.  

Rebekah VanDijk posted a career-best 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting and an 11-for-14 showing at the foul line.  VanDijk just missed registering her 11th double-double of the season as she pulled down nine rebounds.  Her 33 points against the Bobcats were not only a new career high, but also tied for second-most scored by a Sun Belt player this season.

VanDijk is in a three-way tie for 11th in scoring (12.0), ranks second in rebounding (8.9), defensive rebounds (5.5) and blocks (1.7), and is eighth in field-goal percentage (.498).  The sophomore center also leads the SBC in offensive rebounds, grabbing 3.5 per contest.  She is nearly averaging a double-double in league play with 14.1 ppg and 9.8 rpg against Sun Belt foes.

The Mavericks have been without their second leading scorer and top defensive player, Cierra Johnson the last couple of weeks.  Johnson has missed the last five games due to a foot injury and will be a game-time decision.  Johnson is 19th in scoring (10.3) and leads the conference – ninth nationally in steals with 3.1 per game.  

Senior guard Amara Wainwright sits just outside double figures as she is averaging 9.5 ppg.  Wainwright is one of the top three-point shooters in the league as her 40.3 percentage from beyond the arc is second.

As a team, UT Arlington leads the Sun Belt in free-throw shooting (.745) and rebounding margin (+5.2).  UTA has three of the top shooters at the foul line – Johnson (T-7th – .778), Green (11th – .758) and VanDijk (15th – .728), helping the Mavs rank 36th in the NCAA in that category.

The Mavericks are also second in scoring defense (55.8), field-goal percentage defense (.376) and rebounding defense (31.4).  Their ppg average for their opponents is 32nd in the NCAA.

UTA is third in three-point percentage (.334), assists (13.8), assists-turnover ratio (0.7).  Johnson is fourth in assists with 3.3 per game, LaShanda Green is tied for fifth with 3.1 per game and Wainwright is tied for seventh with 3.0 per game.

"Both us and UTA take great pride on the defensive end of the floor," Fowler said.  "They've been without Cierra Johnson the last couple of weeks.  She's one of their main defensive players and we aren't sure of her status for our game.  Even without her, they still have great size and length in the post.  They do a great job of defending the paint and they are outstanding on the offensive boards.  We are going to have to do a better job this time around on the defensive glass."

UTA pulled down 44 rebounds in the first meeting versus the Jags and finished with 21 offensive rebounds, but was only able to get nine second-chance points off those opportunities.  While the Mavs had 19 more shot attempts, they were just 18-for-67 from the field for 26.9 percent.

VanDijk was the lone Maverick in double figures as she had 20 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.  Of her 12 boards, eight came on the offensive glass.

South Alabama picked up the 59-55 victory over UTA in the first meeting as USA got four defensive stops on UT Arlington's final possession of the game.  The Mavericks missed a pair of three-pointers, had a shot blocked Ellis and was called for a travel with 6.4 seconds to go on their final offensive possession before Juliann Miller clinched the win with a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Ellis had 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots in the contest, while Daniels also finished with 13 points and four steals.  Led by Ellis, South Alabama registered its fourth 10-block performance of the season.

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—