NEW ORLEANS, La.  — The University of South Alabama women's basketball team avenged its regular season loss to Texas State with a 68-67 win over the Bobcats in round two of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Lakefront Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

The Jaguars were feeling it from the three-point line against Texas State this afternoon. South Alabama started off the game shooting 5-for-8 from behind the arc in the first quarter to outscore the Bobcats 23-10 and take a 13-point lead into the second. After a tied second quarter that's how the Jags and Texas State went into the half. 

Texas State came out of the half firing on all cylinders, and thanks to a 13-3 run, fueled by guard Toshua Leavit, they cut the Jaguars lead to just one. The Jags responded in kind and finished out the third quarter on a 12-2 run to build their lead back up to double digits. The Bobcats outscored the Jaguars 24-14 in the final quarter of action, but Damaya Telemaque hit one-of-two free-throws with four seconds left to make it a four-point game and the Jaguars move on to the quarterfinals with the win. 

South Alabama was led by junior guard Shaforia Kines. Kines went 5-for-10 from the three-point line, put up a team-high 21 points, brought down seven rebounds, and added four assists.  

The Jaguars move to 22-9 on the season. 

GAME FACTS
South Alabama shot 11-of-24 from three and went 6-for-14 in the first half as they built their lead. The Jaguars are now 9-0 on the season when making ten or more three-pointers in a game this season. In addition to Kines, Devyn Lowe went 3-for-9, and Alexis Sykes went 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Lowe finished with 13 points and Sykes put up six. 

Texas State shot 11-of-30 (.367) from three and 22-of-62 (.355) from the floor. Leavitt went for a game-high 24 points, shooting 33 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 from three. Da'Nasia Hood joined Leavitt in double figures, shooting 4-of-5 from three to notch 15 points for the day. 

Antoinette Lewis posted 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Jaguars. Lewis went 6-for-10 from the floor and notched five offensive rebounds, contributing to the Jaguars 23 second-chance points. South outpaced the Bobcats 23-9 in that respect. 

Kennedi Centers went for three points, eight rebounds, and tied with Kines for a team-high four assists off the bench this afternoon. Freshman guard, Damaya Telemaque also went for eight points, and grabbed seven rebounds. 

NOTES
The Jags move to 2-10 all-time vs. Texas State and have defeated the Bobcats for the first time since March 5, 2016. This is the first time the two sides have met in the conference tournament. 

South Alabama has won two games in the conference tournament for the first time since 2009. The Jags were a No. 5 seed in that affair and lost in the semifinals to MTSU. 

After outscoring the Bobcats by 13 in the first quarter, the Jags were either outpaced or tied in each of the final three quarters, but at no time did Texas State take the lead from South Alabama. 

THEY SAID IT
HEAD COACH TERRY FOWLER
Opening Statement: "First of all, it is just great to get a win in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and be able to move on. Through the first two and a half quarters, we played about the best basketball that we could possibly play. We were able to get the ball both inside and outside and we shot the three-ball very well which allows us to thrive as a team. I am really pleased with our effort especially on the defensive side of the ball because when we played them during the regular season, we really struggled to defend the pick-and-roll but today I thought we did a great job. We have to do a better job of finishing the game but it was a great team effort and we received key contributions from players off the bench and Devyn Lowe. Overall, I am very happy for our team to be able to move on."

On how they were able to contain Toshua Leavitt: "We really made a conscious effort on making sure she felt like that there were two or three defenders on her at all time. When we played them on the road, she had so much space and was able to really open it up. I think she felt a crowd and I understand she had 24 points but it was one of those things where it was on 21 shots and we will take that. I feel like every shot she had to take was difficult."

On the importance of second-chance points: "It was crucial. The team that had the most possessions was going to win the game so we had to give ourselves as many chances as possible. There was a stretch during the fourth quarter where I believe they had three or four offensive rebounds in a row. We have got to make sure that we do a better job of blocking out on that end as we definitely put a big emphasis on offensive rebounding as well."

UP NEXT
No. 7 South Alabama will meet the three seeded Troy Trojans in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 14. Tip-off is slated for 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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