MOBILE, Ala. — The University of South Alabama women's basketball team defeated the 10 seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, 73-61 on Monday night at the Mitchell Center in round one of the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Tournament.
Alexis Sykes knocked down a three-pointer for the Jaguars to get things started tonight and that set the tone for the rest of the evening. Sykes connected on 3-of-4 from behind the arc in the first quarter and South held a 19-9 advantage going into the second. Sykes finished with 15 points on the night and went 5-of-7 from three.
South Alabama went on an 18-2 run in the second quarter to build a 24-point lead and take its largest lead of the season heading into halftime. The Jaguars amassed a game-high 34-point advantage at the five-minute mark in the third quarter, and the contest was out of reach of the Ragin' Cajuns at that point. Louisiana did make a late push, but the Jags lead was too much and South walked away with the 12 point win.
Antoinette Lewis dominated in the paint for the Jaguars this evening. Lewis went 9-for-10 from the floor, posted a game high 20 points, and brought down 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. The sophomore forward was announced as a first team All-Sun Belt player this afternoon by the league office.
GAME FACTS
The Ragin' Cajuns went on an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter to cut the Jaguars lead to 13 but Lewis made a bucket down low, got fouled, and made the free-throw to quell the run. Louisiana's leading scorer, Ty'Reona Doucet went for a team high 15 points but was held to just three rebounds on the night. Doucet shot 7-of-10 from the floor.
The Jaguars shot .483 from the floor and 8-of-22 (.364) from behind the arc, while holding Louisiana to shooting .385 from the floor and 3-of-14 (.214) from three.
South Alabama out-rebounded the Ragin' Cajuns 48-30 on the evening, and brought in 15 offensive rebounds. Those offensive boards led to 17 second-chance points for the Jags. South held Louisiana to just three second-chance points on the other end of the floor.
Kennedi Centers brought in 11 of those Jaguars rebounds and went for a career-high 12 points. The junior forward posted the first double-double of her career. This is the first time of the season that two Jaguars players have recorded double-doubles in the same game and the first time since Feb. 15 of last season, when Chyna Ellis and Lewis combined for the feat.
Damaya Telemaque posted six of her eight points on the night in the first quarter of action. Telemaque grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Jayla Morrow had four helpers on the night as well, both leading the team.
NOTES
South Alabama improves to 39-16 all-time vs. the Ragin' Cajuns and are 2-0 against them this season. The Jaguars have knocked Louisiana out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament four times, and now own a 4-0 record vs Louisiana in the postseason affair.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "First of all, it was great to move on and advance in the tournament. I want to thank the fans that came out for tonight's game. I think for three quarters we played as well as we could play. We really moved the basketball and dominated the glass. We did a great job on the defensive end of the floor and that propelled the offense. After we got into the fourth quarter, they really started pressing and we just didn't handle the press well. Part of that is that defensively we were letting them score and therefore they were able to get into their press. We're still moving on. We've got to move forward and get ready for Texas State."
On advancing to New Orleans: "The tournament feel is really in New Orleans. I really wanted this team to experience that feeling, so I'm excited that we're going to move over and play in the Lakefront Arena. We've got a great opponent in Texas State. We've just got to make sure we get our bodies hydrated and we get some great recovery and preparation as we head into this tournament."
On breaking the game open defensively: "The players followed the game plan. I think we did a great job on picking roles on defense. We really shrunk the floor and made everything difficult for them. They didn't have any space to drive. They just had to make tough shots and we were able to finish the possession off with rebounds."
Sophomore F/C Antoinette Lewis
On her play tonight: "In the previous game, I clearly did not do well. My coaches and my teammates believed in me and told me to just keep my head up and keep grinding and that I'm a really good player. They believed in me, so I just went out there, shook it off, and kept playing."
On coming back with a strong performance: "It feels good, especially since it's survive and advance. We really needed that type of play from me and I just tried to do the best I could to help this team go as far as we can go."
Sophomore G Alexis Sykes
On her shooting tonight: "My teammates kept telling me to shoot the ball. It's always a good thing to have confidence in yourself, but when your teammates tell you to keep shooting, that's the greatest feeling in the world. Those things kept making me keep going."
UP NEXT
No. 7 South Alabama will head to New Orleans for round two of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Jaguars will face No. 6 Texas State on Wednesday, March 13 at 2 p.m at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.
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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