Game 25 • South Alabama Jaguars (19-5, 8-5 SBC) vs. Troy (18-6, 9-2 SBC) • February 23 2019 • 2:00 p.m. • Trojan Arena • Troy, Ala.

THE COACHES
SOUTH ALABAMA
Terry Fowler, (Lane [Tenn.], '86)
at USA: 79-97, 43-64 SBC (6)
Overall: 286-275 (20)
vs. Troy: 3-7 

TROY
Chandra Rigby, (SE Louisiana, '90) 
at Troy: 117-96 (7)
Overall: 346-195 (17)
vs. South Alabama: 9-3

LAST GAME
The University of South Alabama women's basketball team came from behind to down Georgia State 62-59 on Saturday Afternoon at the Mitchell Center. The Jaguars improve to 19-5 on the season, 8-5 in the Sun Belt, and are now tied for fourth in the conference with Georgia State.

South Alabama scored just 19 points in the first half and went into the break down by nine. Things heated up and the Jaguars went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 35 in the third quarter. Savannah Jones hit a three one-minute later to give the Jags their first lead of the game, and South went into the fourth with a two-point lead. Jones finished 4-of-9 from behind the arc and posted 18 points. 

Georgia State, who led for over 27 minutes in the contest, did not go down without a fight. The Panthers tied the game up at 52 with four minutes left to play, but once again Jones hit a three to give the Jags a lead and South outlasted Georgia State for the home win.

MULTIMEDIA
Television: ESPN+
Radio: 99.5 The Jag FM
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Live Audio: USAJaguars.com
Live Video: USAJaguars.com

SERIES NOTES    
South Alabama and Troy have met a total of 49 times dating back 1975. The Trojans lead the all-time matchup 26-23 while the Jaguars lead 19-8 in Sun Belt games. Coach Terry Fowler is 3-7 vs. the Trojans while at South Alabama with one of those wins coming this season in 80-77 fashion at the Mitchell Center on Feb. 2. 

The Jaguars last swept the regular season vs. the Trojans in 2016, winning 75-71 on the road (1/26) and 65-65 at home (2/16), before falling 49-62 in the quarter finals of the conference tournament. 

OPENING TIP
South Alabama (19-5, 8-5 SBC) swept last weekends games against the Georgia schools. The Jags beat Georgia Southern 73-60 on Thursday night and defeated Georgia State 62-59 in a second-half comeback. On the other hand, Troy (18-6, 9-4 SBC) is coming off a weekend split with the Georgia schools in Troy, Ala. The Trojans fell 70-85 vs. Georgia State on Thursday and defeated Georgia Southern 100-78 on Saturday.  It was the Trojans third time this season dropping 100 points on an opponent. Tyra Johnson led Troy with 18 points in the game. In addition to scoring 100 points three times, the Trojans have posted 90 points four times this season. 

The Jaguars were led by two-time Sun Belt Player of the Week, Savannah Jones. Jones paces the Jags with her 15.5 points per game, 17.5 PPG in Sun Belt play, and leads the league & ranks eighth in the NCAA with a .460 three-point FG percentage. 

As a team, the Jaguars are averaging 70.5 points per game, ranks second in the league with a .434 FG percentage, first in FG percentage defense (.352), second in three-point FG percentage (.356) and fourth in rebounds per game (42.0). 

South Alabama took the first meeting of the year between the two schools, 80-77 at the Mitchell Center. Jones posted a career-high 31 points in the Jags win, while Shaforia Kines added 25. The Jaguars put up 30 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 73.3 percent from the floor to down the Trojans in what was a tie game heading into the final quarter of action. South scored 40 points in the paint compared to Troy's 16 and held even with the Trojans on rebounds -- each team grabbed 48 boards. 

Troy leads the Sun Belt in scoring offense and rank 6th in the NCAA at 83.0 points per game. The Trojans lead the Sun Belt and the NCAA in rebounds per game (50.7) and out-rebound their opponents by an average of 11.3 per game. Troy ranks first in the Sun Belt in offensive rebounds (22 per game), three-pointers per game (8.1) and in steals (10.3 per game). The Trojans have the league's seventh best FG percentage (.397) and sixth best 3PT FG percentage (.318). 

At 9-4 in the Sun Belt, Troy sits alone in third place, one game above South Alabama and Georgia State. 

They Said It
Head Coach Terry Fowler 
On Troy: "Troy has been the Sun Belt representative at the NCAA tournament two of the last three years. Very talented group, well coached, I have great respect for Coach Rigby. They really get after you on the defensive end of the floor. You are going to get full-court pressure, their man-to-man defense is aggressive; in your face defense. Then, they really want to push it and get it out in transition. They want to get a lot of quick shots and a lot of possessions. What they really do better than anyone in the country is rebound the basketball. A relentless pursuit of the ball by all five players. They come in in waves and continue to do it, it's a forty minute battle. "

NEXT GAME
South Alabama stays on the road and will head to Arlington, Texas to take on UTA on Thursday, Feb. 28. Tip-off vs. the Lady Mavs is slated for 7 p.m. at the College Park Center. 

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). 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

—USA—