NEW ORLEANS, La. — The University of South Alabama women's basketball program has two players named to the Sun Belt All-Conference Teams for the 2018-19 season. Sophomore, Antoinette Lewis has been named to the All-Sun Belt first team and redshirt sophomore, Savannah Jones is honored with an All-Sun Belt second team selection as announced by the league office on Monday, March 11.
Antoinette Lewis made every start for the Jaguars this season. The sophomore forward/center from Memphis, Tenn., shot .572 from the floor this year to lead the Sun Belt and rank 21st in the NCAA in field-goal percentage. Lewis finished out the year averaging 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while leading the Sun Belt in blocks with 51. Lewis brought in a team-high nine double-doubles on the year, and set a new career high with 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting against ULM on Jan. 26.
A three-time Sun Belt Women's Basketball Player of the Week in 2018-19, Lewis ranked 10th in the conference in scoring, third in rebounding, first in blocked shots per game, and second in offensive rebounds per game. Lewis posted 23 double figure scoring efforts, 12 double-digit rebounding performances, and blocked six shots on two separate occasions.
Savannah Jones has been a key for South Alabama from behind the arc all season. Jones leads the Jags in three-point shooting, ranks second in the conference, and is 10th in the NCAA with a .441 percentage. The reigning Sun Belt freshman of the year was named a two-time Sun Belt Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The Ocean Springs, Miss., native averaged 15.1 points per game, posted two thirty-point games, led the Jaguars in scoring nine times this year, and posted 20 double figure scoring nights.
Jones connected on seven three-pointers two times this season, at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 5 and vs. Georgia Southern on Feb. 14. Jones notched her first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds on Feb. 23 at Troy. Jones ranks fourth in the league in scoring, second in three-pointers made with 2.8 per game and 13th in blocked shots per game.
Jones was named to the pre-season All-Sun Belt first team, while Lewis was not mentioned on any of the three pre-season teams. This is the second-consecutive year the Jaguars have had a player on the first team, as Chyna Ellis who was a member of the first team last season.
THEY SAID IT
HEAD COACH TERRY FOWLER
On what Lewis and Jones mean to the program: "Both of them being sophomore really bodes well for the future of the program. They give us the balance with Antoinette being in the post and then Savannah shooting the three so well on the outside. It makes teams have to kind of pick their poison. They both have grown from last year, so just really excited about the future. Antoinette is a model student, she does everything you need her to do. Just excited for them."
On Lewis' development: "She really committed herself to the strength and conditioning program over the summer and the fall. It has really paid off for her. She has gotten herself in the type of conditioning that is required to play at this level. She is really finishing around the basket well, and rebounding the basketball. Something we weren't sure of was on the defensive end, but she has really defended around the basket. It hasn't been as big of a loss as we thought with Chyna Ellis leaving."
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
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