ARLINGTON, Texas  - The University of South Alabama women's basketball team lost 52-71 to the first-place UTA Lady Mavs on Thursday night at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. 

UTA went on a 13-0 run, that lasted from late in the first quarter to early in the second, to take the lead from South Alabama and the Lady Mavs did not relinquish it for the rest of the night. UTA used the run to outscore the Jaguars 23-10 in the quarter and take a 14-point lead into the half. After the half, the Jags cut the UTA lead to 12 a couple of times, but UTA countered each time to deny South a comeback attempt. 

South Alabama turned the ball over a season-high 27 times, and 15 times in the first half as the Lady Mavs built their lead. UTA capitalized off of those turnovers for 16 points, compared to the Jags two off turnovers. The Lady Mavs added 17 steals, a season-high vs. South this season. The Jaguars shot .364 from the floor, .273 from three, and a season-high .813 from the free-throw line. Compared to UTA who shot .390 from the floor, .320 from three and hit 18-of-25 from the charity stripe. 

Antoinette Lewis crashed the paint in tonights effort, pulling n 14 points and 12 rebounds, notching her eighth double-double of the season. It was her fourth since conference play began back on Jan. 3. Lewis collected all of the seven Jaguars offensive rebounds tonight. 

The Jags move to 19-7 on the season, 8-7 in the conference, and sit in a three-way tie for fifth place with Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. 

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama held the lead for the first eight and a half minutes in the first, before UTA took a 13-12 lead at the end of the quarter. 
- The Jags entered the fourth quarter down by 19 and went on a 9-2 run to start the quarter, which cut UTA's lead to 12. The Lady Mavs responded and went up by a game-high 23 points with one minute left to play. 
- The Jags out-rebounded the Lady Mavs 40-28. Tonight marks the first time this season the Jags have out-rebounded an opponent and lost. 
- Shaforia Kines back in the starting lineup for the first time since exiting the game vs. Georgia State on Feb. 16 in the first quarter, put up 11 points and brought in six boards. 
- The Jags leading scorer, Savannah Jones, shot 3-of-8 from the floor for seven points in the contest. 
- UTA was led by 16 points from Claire Chastain. Chastain was joined by four of her teammates in double figures. Cierra Johnson had 12, Lauren McGowen added 11 from the bench and Brooke Alexander had 10, off the bench as well. 

NOTES
- The Jags move to 4-8 all-time vs. UTA, and will not face the Lady Mavs again unless the two teams meet in the conference tournament. 
- Alexis Sykes returned to the court tonight following an eight-game absence. The sophomore guard played two minutes and shot 0-for-2 from the floor. 

UP NEXT
South Alabama stays on the road to take on Texas State on March 2. Tip-off vs the Bobcats is slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday in San Marcos, Texas at Strahan Arena.

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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