SAN MARCOS, Texas — Game 27 • South Alabama Jaguars (19-7, 8-7 SBC) vs. Texas State Bobcats (13-15, 8-8 SBC) • MARCH 2 2019 • 2:00 p.m. • Strahan Arena • San Marcos, Texas.
THE COACHES
SOUTH ALABAMA
Terry Fowler, (Lane [Tenn.], '86)
at USA: 79-98, 43-65 SBC (6)
Overall: 286-276 (20)
vs. UTA: 4-6
TEXAS STATE
Zenarae Antoine, (Colorado State, '98)
at TX State:124-124, 63-47 SBC (8)
Overall: 124-124, 63-47 SBC (8)
vs. South Alabama: 8-1
LAST GAME
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. 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 the 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.
MULTIMEDIA
Television: ESPN+
Radio: AM 710 WNTM
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Live Audio: USAJaguars.com
Live Video: USAJaguars.com
SERIES NOTES
South Alabama and Texas State have met 10 times since 1994, and nine times the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt during the 2013-14 season. Texas State leads the all-time series vs. the Jags with a 1-9 record. The Jags lone win came on March 5, 2016 in San Marcos in a 70-56 fashion. Texas State has won the last three meetings by an average margin of 14.7 points per game. The teams first met on January 3 1994. Texas State won that contest 78-58 over the Jaguars in Mobile, Ala.
OPENING TIP
South Alabama is coming off of a 51-72 loss to the first-place UTA Lady Mavs on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas. The Jaguars have lost four in a row on the road, and are now 3-5 away from home in the Sun Belt.
South Alabama is led by the trio of Savannah Jones, Antoinette Lewis, and Shaforia Kines. Jones paces the way for the Jags with 15.1 points per game, followed by Lewis at 14.6 and Kines with 13.6. Kines returned to the starting lineup after exiting the game vs. Georgia State on Feb. 16 in the first quarter. Kines put up 11 points and notched six rebounds against UTA, while Lewis put up 14 points and 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season vs. the Lady mavs.
As a team, The Jaguars are shooting .428 from the floor, .346 from three, and .549 from the free-throw line. South Alabama is coming off of a season-high 81.3 percent from the charity stripe.
South Alabama has shot above 60 percent in the fourth quarter nine times this season, and have outscored its opponents 557-445 in fourth and overtime. On the other hand, Texas State has been outscored 493-463 in the fourth quarter and overtime this season, having played one OT game this year, a 67-61 loss to Tulane.
Texas State was on a four-game win streak before Troy came into town on Thursday Feb. 28 and defeated the Bobcats, 82-63. Texas State is in eighth place in the Sun Belt Standings, right below three-team tie for fifth place.
The Bobcats are led by Tohsua Leavitt, averaging 16.4 points per game on the season. Leavitt is third in the league in scoring, ranks 10th with a .376 three-point field goal percentage, and leads the conference with 96 threes made. Leavitt, along with Brooke Holle and Zandra Emmanuel, has started all 28 games on the year for Texas State.
As a team, the Bobcats are shooting .393 from the floor, .327 from three, and .719 from the free-throw line. The Bobcats pull in 35.0 rebounds per game, average just 14.3 turnovers per game, and score 62.6 per. Head Coach
They Said It
Terry Fowler
On Texas State: "Texas State, they run a motion offense, do a great job of setting screens, and they have an outstanding player in Toshua Leavitt. They are a balanced team, play hard, and well coached. They give you different looks, they play a matchup zone, a two-three zone, and play man-to-man. They keep you off balance"
On Leavitt: "She is just a great shooter, an energizer bunny. She flies all over the place. She reads screens really well, and that's what makes her difficult. She is a great ball-handler and can create shots for herself and her teammates."
On the importance of this game: "It's huge. It's on the road and it's tough. We have to put last night behind us and have to comeback and really rally together, and have great sense of urgency for this game"
NEXT GAME
South Alabama returns home for its final homestand of the 2019 regular season to take on Coastal Carolina. Tip-off vs. the Chanticleers is set for 7 p.m. at the Mitchell Center on Thursday, March 7.
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—
