NEW ORLEANS – Shaforia Kines scored eight of her game-high 23 points over the final five minutes on Saturday to help lead the University of South Alabama women's basketball program to a 62-53 non-conference victory over Tulane at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.

After trailing the entire first three periods, the Jaguars (4-5) outscored the Green Wave 19-8 in the fourth quarter as Kines made 3-of-5 shots from the field including a three and a free throw.  Antoinette Lewis posted a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Savannah Jones scored 12 points as well.

Both Arsula Clark and Krystal Freeman recorded double-doubles for TU (4-6), with the former finishing with 14 points and 15 rebounds and the latter contributing 12 of each.

South Alabama 62, Tulane 53 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-The Jags missed their first seven attempts from the field as Tulane opened the game with a 7-0 run.
-South closed to within three points, 19-16, at the end of the first quarter after connecting on a pair of threes while going 4-of-4 at the foul line.
-USA forced 11 Green Wave turnovers to overcome TU's 48 percent shooting in the opening half to trail by just five, 31-26, after 20 minutes.
-Fourteen of the Jaguars' 17 points in the third period came in the paint, with Jones leading the team after scoring seven.
-South limited TU to just 2-of-14 shooting in the last quarter while also forcing four turnovers to complete the comeback.
-The Green Wave won the battle of the boards, 43-30, although the teams were virtually even in second-chance points with TU ending up with a 16-15 edge in the category.
-The Jags finished with just nine turnovers, and were able to score 15 points off of the 18 committed by the Green Wave.

NOTES
-This was the first match-up between the two schools since Nov. 13, 2010.
-It marked the first time the Jaguars defeated TU since a 91-69 victory in Mobile on Jan. 13, 1989, to help them end a five-game Green Wave win streak in the series.
-It was also Jags' first win over a current member of the American Athletic Conference since beating Central Florida 89-76 in triple overtime on Nov. 12, 2011.
-This was South's first road game since Nov. 8 as well.
-Kines has now scored 10 or more points in five straight games, and she is tied for the team lead with three performances of 20-plus points.
-It was the third straight outing that the senior guard has paced the Jags in scoring, the first time this season that an individual in the program has accomplished the feat.
-Lewis's double-double was her fifth of the year, while it marked the seventh occasion the junior has recorded 10 or more boards.
-Jones has posted a double-digit scoring total in each of the last five games, with the guard adding a team-high-tying three assists to lead USA in the category for the first time since the season opener against Rutgers on Nov. 5.
-Senior Kennedi Centers finished with six points, two blocks and a pair of steals — all her first of the year — to go along with two rebounds and a season-high-tying two assists in 17 minutes off the bench.
-Jala Buster's five rebounds, which were one shy of tying a career high, matched her total from the last two games combined.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "That was great, it is a big confidence booster for our ladies and hopefully we can carry it on as we move forward.  To come over here and play in this place against a really good team like Tulane, to fight, scratch and claw to come back and then hold on made me proud of the team and the effort that they gave today."
On staying in the game early on: "We were getting the shots we wanted but they just weren't falling, and they were shooting a high percentage so we had to clamp down on the defensive end and keep them off the offensive boards.  I thought we did that in the second half; we didn't turn it over, we kept them off the boards down the stretch and then those shots we were getting started falling."
On Shaforia Kines: "The thing about Shay is she is a consistent person every day, she shows up and goes to work and that carries over on game day.  She brings it, she is just a big-time performer.  She is the straw that stirs the drink for this team."

Senior G Shaforia Kines
On the importance of getting the road win: "It was only our second road trip, but it was very important to get a win to get our momentum back."
On her performance in the game: "I know that my teammates depend on me for big plays, I need to do that to help get them going so that's what I tried to do.  My teammates put me in the position to make those shots down the stretch, I owe it all to them."

Up next: USA is off next week during fall semester final exams and will next be in action at 2 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, Dec. 15 at Southern Mississippi.

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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