TROY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama's women's basketball team (7-14, 2-8) had a four-point lead slip away with a little over two minutes remaining in the game and fell to Troy (15-6, 8-2) at Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.  The Jaguars rallied back from a 17-point early in the second quarter and led for almost eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
"We missed opportunities late in the game," said South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler.  "There were missed free throws that could have given us a bigger cushion and then two layup attempts on offensive rebounds as well.  We still had opportunities to win the game, and we have to convert on those opportunities."
 
Entering the fourth quarter trailing 58-55 South Alabama started the quarter on an 8-2 run for its first lead of the game.  Chyna Ellis hit a jumper in the first possession off a pass by Shaforia Kines, and Colby Davis got the lead for the Jags with two free throws in the next trip down.  After a layup by Troy LaNeetra Guillory quickly got back the lead for South Alabama with a layup, and Ellis added another layup on the next possession.
 
It stayed a one-possession game with the Jags continuously leading for the next four minutes.  Davis made a layup after a pair of free throws by Troy, and India Hall sank a pair of free throws after Troy went 2-2 at the line once again.  Guillory made a layup with 3:25 remaining to give the Jags a five-point lead.  Troy's Jayla Chills made a layup just seven seconds later.
 
Genesis Perrymond was fouled shortly after Davis gathered a defensive rebound.  With the Jags in the bonus, Perrymond split a pair of free throws for a 70-66 lead with 2:22 remaining in the game.  The Trojans' Caitlyn Ramirez then made a pair of free throws, and Perrymond once again made one of two free throw attempts at the 1:56 mark.  Guillory blocked a layup attempt by Kayla Robinson for a defensive stop, but South Alabama turned the ball over 15 seconds later.  Kristen Emerson made a layup with 1:11 left to cut the Trojans' deficit to one-point, and the Jags came up empty on their next possession.  Chills gave the Trojans the lead on a jumper that they held onto for the last 43 seconds of the game.
 
Davis was called for a charge on the Jags' next possession, but Chills missed two free throws with 32 seconds left.  A three-pointer was then missed by Ellis, and Emerson pushed the Trojans' lead to three with 12 seconds remaining.  Davis' drive to the hoop on the next possession led to an open Perrymond three-point attempt in the corner, but the shot went in-and-out.  Guillory was fouled on the rebound attempt but missed both attempts.  Chills iced the game away with a free throw with two seconds that made it a two-possession game.
 
After the Jags went up by five points on Guillory's layup, they went 0-6 from the field and 2-6 at the line with three turnovers to end the game.
 
Trailing 45-34 at halftime South Alabama outscored Troy 21-13 in the third quarter.  Davis scored the first three points of the third quarter for the Jags with a free throw and then a layup.  Ellis started an 8-0 Jags' run on a layup from a pass by Candice Williams with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter.  Perrymond then hit consecutive three-pointers.
 
After a layup by Ramirez, South Alabama went on a quick 6-2 run that made it a one-possession game for the first time since the first minute of the game.  Davis hit two jumpers, and Ellis added a layup.  After a three and free throw by Troy, South Alabama scored the last four points of the third quarter on a fast break jumper by Camryn London and layup by Perrymond with both coming off a pass by Shaforia Kines.
 
Troy jumped out to a 12-2 lead to start the game as South Alabama went 1-6 from the field and turned the ball over nine times in just under the first six minutes of the game.  The two teams traded baskets afterwards as the Trojans outscored the Jags 20-9 in the first quarter.
 
The Trojans started the second quarter on a 7-1 run for their 17-point lead.  The offense awoke for the Jags afterwards as they outscored the Trojans 24-18 in the rest of the first half.  South Alabama went 8-16 (50%) from the field, including 4-9 (44.4%) from three, and 5-6 (83.3%) at the charity stripe in the quarter.  Six different Jags scored in the quarter, including seven points from Davis and five by both Williams and India Hall.
 
"We finally settled down in the second quarter and handled the press," said Fowler.  "We started the game with six turnovers in the first seven possessions.  Once we settled down we were fine.  We just dug ourselves a big hole in the first 13 minutes of the game."
 
South Alabama shot 44.6% (25-56) from the field, 27.3% (6-22) from three and 15-21 (71.4%) from the line.  Troy was just 36.1% (26-72) from the field, but went 8-18 (44.1%) from three and 75% (15-20) from the charity stripe.
 
"Troy will give you opportunities to score based off its pressing defense," said Fowler.  "You have to be efficient against it.  It's not real different if you compare it to the last few years we've played them.  That's typically how it goes."
 
The Jaguars finished with a slight rebounding edge (41-40) but lost the turnover battle by eight with a season-high 30 that helped Troy outscore South Alabama 20-10 in fast break points.  The Jags did outscore the Trojans 19-17 in points off turnovers with Troy committing 22 of their own.  Also South Alabama finished with a 26-16 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Davis scored a game-high and season-high 20 points and tied a career-high in made field goals by going 7-11 from the field.  She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.  Perrymond had 13 points with three three-pointers and also had three assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal.
 
Ellis recorded her fourth and second-straight double-double of the year with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  She also blocked two shots and shared a game-high in steals with three.
 
"Chyna Ellis and Colby Davis were both aggressive in the game," said Fowler.  "I thought they really drove it to the basket, and Troy made a nice adjustment at the end of the game stepping and taking charges on both of them.  Prior to that they were really aggressive and had that scorer's mentality.  They have to continue to have that type of mentality the rest of the year."
 
Williams scored seven points and had three steals and a game-high six assists.  Shaforia Kines had career-highs of seven rebounds and four assists.
 
The Jags continue with road games in Sun Belt play and head to Louisiana next week to face the two conference schools in that state.  South Alabama starts with Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
 
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).