Game 1 | Nov. 5, 2019 | 7 PM (CST) | Mobile, Ala. | Mitchell Center

South Alabama (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)

Rankings: — AP | — Coaches | — RPI

Head Coach: Terry Fowler (Lane [Tenn.] '86)
Record at USA (years): 85-103 (6)
Career Record (years): 292-281 (19)
Record vs. RU: 0-0

Returning Statistical Leaders
Pts: Antoinette Lewis (14.9)
Rebs: Antoinette Lewis (9.2)
Asts: Damaya Telemaque (114)
Blks: Antoinette Lewis (64)
Stls: Antoinette Lewis (41)

Rutgers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Rankings: RV AP | RV Coaches | — RPI

Head Coach: C. Vivian Stringer (Slippery Rock '71)
Record at RU (years): 499-277 (24)
Career Record (years): 1,019-412 (48)
Record vs. USA: 0-0

Returning Statistical Leaders
Pts: Arella Guirantes (12.1)
Rebs: Arella Guirantes (4.2)
Asts: Arella Guirantes (54)
Blks: Mael Gilles (11)
Stls: Arella Guirantes (39)

Multimedia
Television/Video: ESPN+
J.D. Byars (pxp) and Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag;
Steve Goldberg (pxp) and Charles Harrison (analysis)
Live Video: https://es.pn/34bo4pc
Live Stats: http://statb.us/b/283110
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_WBB

Series History
Overall: first meeting
In Mobile: n/a
In New Brunswick: n/a
Neutral: n/a
Longest USA Streak: n/a
Longest RU Streak: n/a
Series Streak: n/a
First Meeting: n/a
Last Meeting: n/a

Opening Tip
• The Jaguars' regular season gets underway with Rutgers coming to the Mitchell Center on Tuesday night.
• This will be the first of a minimum of four match-ups against a team that appeared in the 2019 NCAA Tournament for the Jags (USA will also face Auburn and Little Rock twice during the regular season).
• It's the first time South will take on a current member of the Big Ten Conference since dropping an 83-63 decision to Iowa at the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 30, 2002.
• The only member of the Big Ten to previously visit the Mitchell Center was Minnesota, which earned a 61-46 victory over the Jaguars on Dec. 10, 1999.
• USA's only victory over a Big Ten squad came on Dec. 8, 1984, when the Jags defeated Michigan 71-61 at the Duval Hotel Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
• The last time a school from an Autonomy Five conference played in the Mitchell Center came on Dec. 19, 2016, when North Carolina State defeated the Jags in the first meeting of a home-and-home series.

Season Tip-Off Tidbits
• South Alabama is 23-22 all-time in season openers, including wins in three of the last four.
• The Jags are 36-9 in their home debuts, highlighted by a 16-4 mark at the Mitchell Center.
• It's the first time since the 2014-15 campaign that USA will face an NCAA Division I opponent in its first home contest.
• The last time South defeated a Division I foe in its home debut came during the 2012-13 season, when the Jags earned a 59-43 victory over Tennessee State.
• This is the earliest the Jaguars will begin the season under the direction of head coach Terry Fowler.

Notes From The Exhibition Win
• The Jags never trailed in the contest, which included leading by double digits over the final 33 minutes of play.
• South turned 36 Panther turnovers into 44 points on the other end of the floor, posting a 19-0 advantage in fast-break points as well in the contest.
• The Jags outscored BSC 72-12 in the paint while holding a 38-17 edge over the Panthers in points supplied by the bench.
• The Jags finished with 19 steals against the Panthers, more than they had in any game last season.
• Jala Buster — who had 22 points in 14 appearances in 2018-19 as a freshman — needed just over 16-and-a-half minutes against BSC to post her total after making 5-of-6 shots from the field.
• Sophomore guard Mahogany Vaught finished with more points and steals than in any contest a year ago, and her assist total would've matched a career high as well.

Notes From The 2018-19 Finale
• South Alabama hit seven of its last nine field goal attempts, but Wyoming matched that by nailing six of its last seven shots from the floor and by going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch.
• The Cowgirls shot 50 percent from the floor and connected on 6-of-7 free-throw attempts to outscore the Jags by nine points and break the game open in the third period.
• The Jaguars turned the ball over just 13 times in the game, but the Cowgirls capitalized off the mistakes for 20 points.
• South outscored Wyoming, 28-20, in the paint as Lewis posted her team-leading 13th double-double of the season.
• Jones went 4-of-9 from behind the arc to become South Alabama's season leader in the category after ending the campaign with 81.
• It marked the third time in seven postseason contests that Kines paced the team in scoring (Lewis accomplished the feat in the other four outings).

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).
 
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—USA—