Game 21 • South Alabama Jaguars (17-3, 6-3 SBC) vs. Arkansas State (8-12, 3-6 SBC) • February 7 2019 • 7:00 p.m. • First National Bank Arena • Jonesboro, Ark.

THE COACHES
SOUTH ALABAMA
Terry Fowler, (Lane [Tenn.], '86)
at USA: 77-95, 41-62 SBC (6)
Overall: 284-273 (20)
vs. Arkansas State: 1-9

ARKANSAS STATE
Brian Boyer, (Missouri Western '93)
at Arkansas State: 329-281
Overall: 329-281
vs. South Alabama: 20-10

LAST GAME
The University of South Alabama women's basketball team earned a hard fought 80-77 win over the Sun Belt leading Troy Trojans on Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center. 

In a game that saw 17 lead changes the Jaguars came out on top in large part to a 30-22 point advantage in the fourth quarter. South Alabama shot 73.3 percent in the fourth quarter and closed the game out making 10 of its last 11 field-goal attempts. The Jaguars sealed the deal when Savannah Jones connected on a three pointer with 1:05 left to play to give the Jags a 75-74 lead. The Jags held off Troy for the rest of the game and got the win. 

NEXT GAME
South Alabama stays on the road to take on Little Rock on Saturday, Feb. 9. Tip off vs. the Trojans is slated for 3 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark.

MULTIMEDIA
Television: ESPN+
Radio: AM 710 WNTM
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Live Audio: USAJaguars.com
Live Video: USAJaguars.com

SERIES NOTES    
South Alabama and Arkansas State have met a total of 49 times, all coming since Arkansas joined the Sun Belt in 1992. The Jags own an 11-38 all-time record vs. the Red Wolves, 9-34 in Sun Belt regular season play, and 2-4 in the conference tournament. Arkansas State has taken nine out of the last ten, with the Jaguars getting their most recent win on March 4, 2017 at the Mitchell Center. The two teams faced each other at the Mitchell Center back on Jan. 10, with the Jags falling 64-77 in what was their first home loss of the season. 

OPENING TIP
The Jaguars have won five straight games, with their last loss coming vs. Little Rock on Jan. 12 at home.

Savannah Jones is coming off of her second 30-point game of the season, posting a career-high 31 vs. Troy. Jones was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week for that effort. Jones is averaging 16.6 points per game in conference play this season, and ranks third in the Sun Belt, and 12th in the nation, with a .452 three-point field-goal percentage. The Jags offense ranks fourth in the conference, putting up 72.7 points per game, behind a team field-goal percentage of .444 and three-point percentage of .368, both good for second in the Sun Belt. The Jaguars follow that up with a stellar defense that boasts a .352 FG percentage and .268 three-point FG percentage against, both tops in the league. 

Antoinette Lewis leads the Sun Belt, and ranks No. 11 in the NCAA with a .604 field-goal percentage. Lewis has recorded five double-doubles for the season, and is averaging 14.8 points per game, while leading the Jaguars with 8.8 rebounds per game. 

Shaforia Kines, coming off a career day vs. Troy, leads the Jaguars in scoring at 14.9 points per game, and leads South Alabama with 53 made three-pointers. Kines is shooting .417 from behind the arc and continues to be a leader of the Jags offense that averages a Sun Belt leading 7.7 threes made per game. 

Arkansas State is coming off a 55-68 to the first place Little Rock Trojans on the road this past Saturday. After winning their first three games of the season, the Red Wolves have lost six Sun Belt games in a row, by an average of 17.5 points per game. Arkansas State is sitting in 10th place in the Sun Belt is allowing the most points per game against at 74.4. 

The Red Wolves have the second-worst field-goal percentage defense in the league, allowing opposing offenses to shoot .450 from the floor, and are getting out-rebounded by a -6.4 margin, for the lowest mark in the league. 

Peyton Martin and Akasha Westbrook have started in all 20 games for Arkansas State this season. Martin leads the Red Wolves with 14.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Westbrook is averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 boards per contest. 

When the two clubs last met, on Jan. 10 at the Mitchell Center, Martin went for 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Lewis put up 21 points and nine rebounds for the Jaguars. South Alabama's Christen Carter was the only other player for either team to score in double figures, posting a season-high 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting. 

They Said It
Head Coach Terry Fowler 
On the rematch with Arkansas State: "Going back and looking at the film, they came out really aggressive and we just kind of got on our heels. We didn't really execute on the offensive end of the floor. Defensively, we were not in synch. I want to see us correct those things and give our best effort.  

On the halfway point and beginning to face teams for the second time: "Being able to take what we see on film, and corrections we need to make, then applying it to the game; that's the main thing. This part of the season, teams either go up or down. We have to make sure we are steadily improving." 

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—