MOBILE, Ala.  — The University of South Alabama women's basketball team defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 67-50 on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center to earn its 20th win of the season. 

The Jaguars got off to a fast start against Coastal, starting the game on a 10-2 run. The Jaguars maintained control of the game for the half and went into the break with a four-point lead. 

South Alabama connected on 5-of-8 three pointers in the third, but Coastal held their own and didn't allow the Jags to run away with the game. After Shaforia Kines and Alexis Sykes made back-to-back threes to start off the third, the Chanticleers went on an 8-0 run to tie things up at 35. Coastal took advantage and gained the lead for two minutes. Then, Devyn Lowe caught fire from behind the arc.

Lowe made back-to-back threes to give the Jaguars a five-point lead late in the third, and the team as a whole made their final six shots of the quarter to carry momentum into the fourth. The Jags began to build on their lead in the quarter, went on a 9-2 run, and built a 14 point advantage. Lowe started off the game 5-of-5 from three, finished 6-of-7 from behind the arc, and posted a career-high 20 points in the win. The Jaguars shot 45.2 percent, hitting 11-of-24, from beyond the three-point line for the game. 

The Jags improve to 20-8 on the season, 9-8 in the Sun Belt and sit in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings heading into the final regular season game of the season. 

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama was outscored 18-12 in the paint in the first half, but dominated down low in the second half to wind up outpacing the Chanticleers 30-28 in the paint for the game. Antoinette Lewis finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for the Jaguars on 5-of-9 shooting. It was the sophomore forward's 20th game of the season scoring in double figures. 
- Naheria Hamilton hit a layup for the Chanticleers with four minutes to go in the third quarter that capped off a 13-2 Coastal run. That layup gave Coastal its first lead of the game. Hamilton posted a team-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Chanticleers. 
- Alexis Sykes made her second straight start for the Jaguars this evening. The sophomore guard posted nine points and shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc. 
- Damaya Telemaque had five helpers and led the Jags in assists for the 15th time this season. The freshman guard added nine points and grabbed eight rebounds. 

NOTES
- With the win, South Alabama has earned back-to-back 20 win seasons for the fourth time in program history, and the first time since the 2006-07/2007-08 seasons. It is the first time in Coach Terry Fowler's tenure the Jags have accomplished the feat. 
- The Jaguars have swept Coastal Carolina this season, and improve to 4-2 all-time vs. the Chanticleers. The two teams will not meet again unless they meet in the Sun Belt tournament. 
- South Alabama improves to 8-0 on the season when hitting 10 or more three-pointers. They last hit 10 threes on Jan. 19 at Georgia Southern. 
- The Jags bench accounted for 30 of the Jaguars 67 points. It is the most the bench has put up since playing Faulkner earlier this season, and most against a division one opponent this year. In addition to Lowe's 20 points, Kennedi Centers added eight and Jayla Morrow finished with two points. 
- South Alabama broke their season-long three-game losing streak with tonight's win. 

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "It was good to be back home in the Mitchell Center. The crowd was awesome. The thing I thought made a big difference was the rebounding. At their place they had 29 offensive rebounds; we held them to 14 tonight. We limited our turnovers. We had some down the stretch where we were just careless with the ball there at the end. I thought we did a great job playing inside out and getting shots in transition. We got layups, we got threes. Devyn Lowe really stepped up and had a big game for us and we just fed off of her 3-pointers. It was a great team win. It was good to get back in the win column."

On the impact of players coming off the bench: "This group has felt like that all year. It's kind of difficult sometimes when you're playing behind someone. We've got some all-conference type players playing in front of them. The thing is, you never know when your name is going to be called. On different nights, people have stepped up and done it. We got nine big points from Alexis Sykes tonight as well. We feel confident in our group. They just have to be ready when their number is called." 

On 20 wins this season: "It means the world for our program right now. We've had back-to-back 20-win seasons. It's something to build on. Let's continue to take the next steps where 20 is not such a big deal, it's what we do. For everything we've been through in the time we've been here, having back-to-back 20-win seasons is huge."

Redshirt freshman guard Devyn Lowe
On tonight's game: "It's a good feeling. The basket feels really huge. It's from lots of practice and lots of work with coaches. Coach tells us to always stay confident and stay ready, your moment is going to come. Tonight I took the moment, embraced it, and knew that all the hard work we've been doing with our coaches at practice was going to pay off."

On her teammates' encouragement in the huddle: "They said just keep shooting it and keep letting it fly. Stay confident. Stay ready. They have confidence in me, so I feed off that. It went really well."

UP NEXT
South Alabama takes on Appalachian State in the regular season finale on Saturday March 9 in Mobile, Ala. Tip-off vs. the Mountaineers is set for 4 p.m. on Senior Night at the Mitchell Center.

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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