MOBILE, Ala. - The University of South Alabama women's basketball team earned an 83-60 win in convincing fashion of the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns on Thursday afternoon at the Mitchell Center in front of 2152 people on pack the house day.

The Jaguars caught fire early from behind the arc, and Shaforia Kines was the catalyst. Kines went 3-for-3 from three in the first quarter and led the Jags on a 13-0 run which helped establish a 10-point lead heading into the second. From there the Jags stayed hot and didn't take their feet off the gas, shooting a stout .557 from the floor, and .500 from three for the game.

After taking a 14-point lead into halftime the Jags came out even stronger after the break, going on a 15-1 run in the fourth to finish up their 23 point win. That 23 point margin of victory is the largest by the Jags against a division one opponent this season, and their largest since beating Faulkner by 57 on Dec. 17. 

Kines finished the game with 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists going a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. Antoinette Lewis ended up as the Jags leading scorer for the sixth time this season. Lewis shot 8-of-14 from the floor and finished with 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists. 

The Jags improved to 15-3 on the season and are 4-3 in the Sun Belt.

GAME FACTS
- Coming off of the highest scoring Sun Belt game of her career, Damaya Telemaque put up 13 points for the second game in a row. Telemaque connected on 6-of-13 from the floor, and finished with four rebounds and five assists. 
- Jayla Morrow made her presence known off the Jags bench. Morrow hit 2-of-2 from three and wound up with 11 points and eight rebounds. 
- Kennedi Centers continued to be a factor for the Jaguars, drawing two big offensive fouls and posting six points, five rebounds, and four assists. 
- The Jaguars out rebounded the Ragin Cajuns 46-32 in the contest. This marks the first time in eight games that the Jags have beaten an opponent on the glass. South held the second leading rebounder in the Sun Belt, Ty'Reona Doucet, to just six boards. The sophomore center did put up a game-high 23 points for Louisiana. 
- Coming up on the glass was huge for the Jags, as they used that as an opportunity to get out in transition and put up 25 fast break points. 
The Jags defense held Louisiana's offense to shooting 33.8 percent from the floor, and 26.7 percent from three. 

NOTES 
- With the win, the Jaguars improve to 38-16 all-time vs. Louisiana, and will not meet the Ragin Cajuns again in the regular season this year. 
- Led by Kines and Telemaque the Jaguars offense was as unselfish as it gets, posting a season-high 24 assists. 

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "First of all, I want to thank all the schools that participated in our 'pack the house' game. It was a great crowd today; they were really into it for 40 minutes. I'm just happy we were able to give them something to really get out and cheer about. It was a great atmosphere. I thought the game started out early with both teams going back and forth, then we were able to get some separation. Shay Kines really set the tone for us, especially in the first half, and then Antoinette Lewis was fantastic on the inside and did a great job. It was a total team effort with great balance and I'm excited about that."

On a dominating performance after a road trip: "It's the confidence we have. It's really about moving on to the next ball game. That's something we talked about. This is a different ball game today, so we've got to go out and play to the best of our abilities. I thought we did that. The key was rebounding the ball well."

UP NEXT
South remains home to take on ULM on Saturday, Jan. 26. Tip-off vs. the Warhawks is slated for 3 p.m. at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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