NEW ORLEANS , La. — The University of South Alabama women's basketball team advances to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a 87-74 overtime win over the Troy Trojans on Thursday afternoon at the Lakefront Arena.
South Alabama outscored the Trojans 18-5 in overtime to seal the win and advance to the first semifinal appearance since 2009. Shaforia Kines hit two big threes at the start of the fourth quarter and overtime to set the tone for the Jaguars. Kines went for a game-high 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists.
The Jaguars got off to a hot start in the first quarter this afternoon. The Jaguars shot 60 percent from the floor in the quarter, and redshirt junior, Christen Carter went 5-for-5 in the first and 6-for-6 to start the game. Carter went for a career-high 19 points and brought in four rebounds.
Troy battled back in the second quarter and outpaced the Jaguars 24-14 to head into halftime up by one. The second half featured a back-and-forth battle between the two programs. The game saw nine ties and 11 lead changes until the Jaguars took the final lead with a Kines three that made it 73-71 with four minutes to play in overtime.
South Alabama had four scorers in double figures in today's effort. Kines led the team with her 23, Carter second with 19, Antoinette Lewis had 15 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season, and Jayla Morrow had 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting off the bench.
The Jags move to 23-9 on the season, and have won 23 games for the first time since the 1986-87 season.
GAME FACTS
Troy outscored the Jaguars by ten in the second quarter, thanks to a 10-for-22 shooting effort in the quarter. On the other side, the Jags shot 5-for-16 in the second after going 9-for-15 in the first. The Trojans used that shooting to head into the half up by one, and South Alabama moves to 8-8 on the year when trailing at the half.
Lewis got in early foul trouble and sat out for the majority of the first half. That allowed the Trojans to crash the offensive side of the glass and pull in a total of 28 offensive rebounds. The Trojans had a total of 29 second-chance points compared the Jags 13.
NOTES
South Alabama moves on to the semifinals in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since 2009 and have now won three games in the tournament for the first time in program history.
The Jaguars improve to 2-3 vs. Troy in the Conference Tournament and earned their first win against the Trojans in the postseason since 2009. South is now 8-21 all time in the quarterfinals round.
The Jaguars took two of three games against the Trojans this season, with each team defending their home courts and South earning the win today. It was the Jaguars second overtime win of the season, and first since defeating FIU 84-77 at the FIU Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21.
THEY SAID IT
HEAD COACH TERRY FOWLER
Opening Statement: "First of all, we didn't expect anything less than that from a Troy-South Alabama game. It's that type of game – the physicality, the competition level – every time we play. The game played out just like I said it would. I told our team if we can keep rebounds close, we didn't have to win the rebounding battle. It was 54-46 and we would have an opportunity to do it. (I) wasn't pleased with the first half. They had 14 offensive rebounds and 13 points off of that. (I) thought we did a better job in the second half in key situations, maybe not throughout. We had to tighten up our pick-and-roll coverage, and we did that midway through the second half. We were able to just stop it, and (I) thought we did a great job of executing on the offensive end, getting the ball inside to Antoinette (Lewis). She was able to play off of it. We were able to kick back out to Shay, and we just had
great contributions from everybody today. I couldn't be more proud of this group."
On Carter's play today: "The first couple of shots went in. One of the things we've been trying to tell her is, she's been taking some three's and things. Hey, get in your shooting range – get your rhythm shots. Those are the shots she can make. I thought today it was a one-two step shot, and once she hit her first two, it started feeling good. She took shots that she makes. She makes those in practice. (She) played within herself. We rode the wave with her the first half, especially with Antoinette out of the game."
On contributions from four players in double figures: "That was huge. Again with Antoinette not playing but six minutes in the first half, other players had to step up like Christen (Carter) did. Damaya (Telemaque) had a big game. Jayla Morrow was in a grassy mode. We talked to her last night – she was feeling like she was in a slump, but you just have to play the next play. I thought the style of this game was going to be something she could thrive in. She attacked the basket and was able to finish for us.
On the key to the next game: "The first thing is rest. We have to get great rest and recovery tonight and be ready to go tomorrow. This one today was an easy one to get our team up for – it's Troy, the rival, so the adrenaline is already pumping. We have to make sure we do that. UTA is a great basketball team. They are really complete. We are going to have to mentally scout, watch the film, and be ready to guard personnel. We've got to make sure we can stay out of foul trouble. We got into foul trouble at their place."
UP NEXT
No. 7 South Alabama will meet the two seed UTA Lady Mavs in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 15. Tip-off is set 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
—USA—
