Game 29 - at Texas State Game Notes (.pdf)SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will look to bounce back and close the regular season strong as the Jaguars try to lock up their seed in next month's Sun Belt Championships when they take on Texas State on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off versus the Bobcats is set for 2 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.
"We're coming off a disappointing loss last night to UT Arlington in a game where I thought we played well enough to win, but just didn't make enough plays, especially down the stretch," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "Going into Saturday's game against Texas State, it's a big game for us. It's a game we need to play well in and just see what the outcome is. We need to play well, so we have a good feeling heading into the conference tournament.
"Texas State has three or four players that can score the ball at any given time. We've got to get the ball into the pain and utilize our size advantage, whether they are playing man or zone defense. If you look at the teams who have had success against them, they have been able to get the ball inside the paint and their post (players) have been effective. We are going to have to try to take advantage of that."
Live stats and web streaming for the contest versus the Bobcats 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 (14-14, 10-9 SBC) comes into the regular-season finale tied with UT Arlington for fifth place in the Sun Belt standings. The Jags currently hold the tiebreaker over the Mavericks by way of their win over UL Lafayette last weekend.
USA can end up anywhere from the fourth seed to the sixth seed. The Jags can earn the fourth seed with a win over the Bobcats and a Troy loss on Saturday. This would set up a three-way tie between USA, Troy and UTA. The Jaguars would earn the fourth seed by way of its tiebreaker in composite records of those three teams against each other. USA has a 3-1 composite in that situation (2-0 vs. Troy, 1-1 vs. UTA). UTA would be 2-2 (1-1 vs. USA, 1-1 vs. Troy). The Trojans would earn the fifth seed by way of its win over No. 2 seed Little Rock earlier this season.
Should both South Alabama and UTA lose on Saturday, the two teams would be tied for fifth. USA would earn the higher seed due to its win over No. 3 seed UL Lafayette since the two clubs split the head-to-head matchup this season. The Jags would face Troy who would be the fourth seed.
If UT Arlington defeats Troy in its season finale and USA loses to Texas State, Troy and the Mavericks would be tied for fourth,. UTA would gain the higher seed and the Trojans would earn the fifth seed. The Jaguars would then fall into the sixth seed and face the Ragin' Cajuns in the opening round.
South Alabama enters the game versus the Bobcats after falling 53-49 at UTA on Thursday night. South Alabama led by six at the intermission, the UT Arlington posted 21 third-quarter points to retake the lead for good.
Colby Davis led the club with 15 points against the Mavs, her third double-figure outing in her last four games. Davis is second on the club in scoring with 8.6 ppg and leads the team from behind the arc, knocking down 41.1 percent of her long-range attempts.
Chyna Ellis posed her fourth double-double of the season on Thursday with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort versus UTA. Ellis is averaging 8.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg, which is tied for fourth in the Sun Belt with Little Rock's Shanity James.
Marquita Daniels continues to lead the club offensively as she ranks 17th in the SBC with 11.4 points per game. Daniels is also tied for fourth in the league in steals with 2.2 per outing.
South Alabama currently leads the Sun Belt and is tied with Omaha for 10th in the NCAA in blocks, averaging 5.9 per game. The Jaguars are 19th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.350), 52nd in three-point field-goal defense (.284) and 51st in scoring defense (57.9). USA leads the league in field-goal defense, three-point field-goal defense and on the defensive glass (27.1). USA has 165 blocks on the season, which is the most in a single season in program history and ranks 12th-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.
Ellis is first in the Sun Belt and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in blocks – fifth-most among sophomores nationally – with 2.71 per game. Her 76 blocks this season are 19th-most nationally and are second-most in a single-season in program history.
The 6-2 center has recorded five or more blocks six times this season and in her 19 conference games, she is averaging 3.05 bpg. She has had two or more blocks in 24 of her 28 games.
Texas State (12-17, 7-12 SBC) enters play this weekend tied with Appalachian State for seventh in the SBC standings. The Bobcats currently hold the tiebreaker over the Mountaineers by virtue of their win over Little Rock earlier this season. Should Texas State and App State remain tied following Saturday's games, the Bobcats would be the No. 7 seed based on TSU's win over the Trojans. Should one win and the other lose, the winning team would get the higher seed.
Texas State enters its final home game after suffering an 88-73 loss to Troy on Thursday. The loss to the Trojans was the fifth-straight for the Bobcats and their ninth in their last 11 outings. TSU holds a 9-4 record this season at Strahan Coliseum, but is just 5-4 on its home floor in conference play.
Troy grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter and eventually led by as much as 18. The Trojans also placed five players in double figures and scored 43 of their 88 points off the bench.
Saturday's game versus the Jaguars will be the final home game for Texas State's Ayriel Anderson and Raven Burns as the Bobcats will honor the two seniors prior to tip-off.
Kaitlin Walla and Taeler Deer are the lone Bobcats averaging double figures with 10.7 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Deer ranks 14th in the SBC in field-goal percentage (.421).
Walla and Burns rank as two of the top three-point shooters in the Sun Belt coming into the game. The duo each has a team-high 51 treys on the year. Walla is tied for fifth in the league, knocking down 38.3 percent of her attempts, while Burns is eighth in the conference, connecting on 34.7 percent of her attempts. True freshman Toshua Leavitt is second in the Sun Belt with a 41.1 three-point percentage average.
As a team, the Bobcats second in the conference in both three-point percentage (.339) and threes per game (7.6). Their 7.6 treys per outing are also 31st-most in the NCAA. Texas State has made 221 three-pointers this season which is 27th-most in the nation. Nearly 40 percent of the Bobcats' field-goal attempts have come from beyond the arc.
TSU has done a solid job of protecting the ball this season, committing just 15.7 turnovers per game, which is third-lowest in the league.
Texas State is one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the league, connecting on 70.5 percent its attempts. Anderson is second individually in that category at 82.9 percent, while Deer is fifth (.806).
In the first meeting versus the Jags this season, the Bobcats erased an 18-point second-half deficit and defeated South Alabama, 73-71 at the Mitchell Center in USA's annual "Pack the House" game. South Alabama led 44-26 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Bobcats used a pair of 13-2 runs during midway through the third and to start the fourth to rally back and retake the lead for good.
Juliann Miller led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-5 from the three-point line, while also pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists in 31 minutes of action.
The Bobcats placed five players in double figures and were led by Deer's 14 points. Deer was 6-for-12 from the field and dished out a team-high five assists. Of her 14 points, 12 came in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting. Like Deer, Anderson also came up big for Texas State during the final two quarters, scoring 12 of her 13 points during that time. All three of Anderson's second-half field goals came from beyond the arc. She also grabbed five of her six rebounds and played all 20 minutes of the final two quarters.
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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