MOBILE, Ala  —  Game 29 • South Alabama Jaguars (20-8, 9-8 SBC) vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers (15-13, 9-8 SBC) • MARCH 9 2019 • 4:00 p.m. • Mitchell Center

THE COACHES
SOUTH ALABAMA
Terry Fowler, (Lane [Tenn.], '86)
at USA: 80-100, 44-67 SBC (6)
Overall: 287-277 (20)
vs. Appalachian State: 4-4

APPALACHIAN STATE
Angel Elderkin, (Southern Maine '99)
at App State: 59-91 (29-49)
Overall: 59-91 (38-58)
vs. South Alabama: 3-4

LAST GAME
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 back-to-back 20 win seasons. 

MULTIMEDIA
Television: ESPN+
Radio: AM 710 WNTM
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Live Audio: USAJaguars.com
Live Video: USAJaguars.com

SERIES NOTES    
The series between South Alabama and Appalachian State is tied up at five. The two sides have met eight times since 2015, when the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt. The conference series is also tied up, at four games apiece. Appalachian State defeated the Jaguars 71-63 in Boon, N.C. in the first Sun Belt game of the season in 2019. App held the Jags to shooting 21.4 percent in the fourth quarter to complete their comeback win. 

After losing the first two games in conference play to App State, the Jags won four in a row before losing its final game to the Mountaineers last season. The Jags went 1-1 against App State last season, wining 54-52 at home and losing 56-57 in overtime at Boone. 

OPENING TIP
South Alabama (20-8, 9-8) is coming off of a 67-50 win over Coastal Carolina at home on March 7. The Jaguars defeated the Chanticleers thanks to an 11-for-24 effort from the three-point line. The Jags are now 8-0 on the season when they make 10 or more three pointers and rank second in the Sun Belt with a .338 field-goal percentage from behind the arc. Devyn Lowe connected on 6-of-7 three pointers in the win against Coastal for a career high 20 points off the bench. 

South Alabama and Appalachian State sit in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Sun Belt Standings along with Texas State. When the two clubs met on January 3, 2019 in Boone, N.C., App State outscored the Jags 23-10 in the fourth quarter to come away with the win, and hand South its first loss on the season. 

Junior guard, Shaforia Kines picked up her first career double-double in the loss. Kines went for 15 points and 10 rebounds, and was one of two Jaguars in double figures. Savannah Jones joined Kines with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Jags shot just 21.4 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter and went 0-for-4 from the three-point line in the quarter. The Jags blocked 10 shots in the game, Antoinette Lewis had a career-high six of those denials. 

Kines is averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season for the Jaguars, and is third in the Sun Belt with a 1.7 assist-turnover ratio. Lewis ranks second on the Jags with 14.4 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. The sophomore forward leads the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage, making 58.8 percent of her shots. 

It's senior day for the Jaguars. Redshirt junior Christen Carter, and senior India Hall will be playing in their final home games for South Alabama against Appalachian State. Carter has made all 27 of her career starts this season for the Jaguars, and appeared in 61 games over her career. Hall has appeared in 100 games for the Jaguars and set a new career high with 12 points against Tennessee State this season. 

Appalachian State comes into the final regular season Sun Belt conference game off a 66-95 loss to the Troy Trojans on March 7. The Mountaineers turned the ball over 20 times vs. Troy and the Trojans capitalized to the tune of 26 points off turnovers in the game. Troy hit 11-of-32 from three compared to App State's 4-of-18 night. 

Lainey Gosnell led the Mountaineers with 18 points when the Jaguars came into town on Jan. 3. Pre Stanley (17) and Madi Story (10) joined Gosnell in double figures while Bailey Plummer brought down a game-high 16 rebounds and added nine points in the effort. 

Story leads the Mountaineers with 12.1 points per game and is shooting .423 from the floor on the year. Gosnell and Plummer are joined by Ashley Polacek as the three Mountaineers to start in every game for App State this season. Polacek leads the team and ranks second in the Sun Belt with 133 assist (4.8 per game) on the year and has 30 steals to lead her squad. 

THEY SAID IT 
HEAD COACH TERRY FOWLER
On how App State has grown throughout the season: "They really started to establish themselves, have their rotations solidified and they are shooting the ball extremely well. To have watched this program evolve over the years, they have really stepped up and they're doing great." 

On adjusting to App State after the first time around: "We have to do the things well that we did for the first 35 minutes of the ballgame. They made a late run at the end and we didn't execute on the offensive end. They did some good things on their end of the floor. The rebounding will be crucial, we have to be sure to limit them to one and keep them off the glass." 

On Christen Carter and India Hall: "They came here during our tough times. For them to get here and be a part of back-to-back 20 win seasons, it's the reason we brought them here. They have been instrumental in creating a culture, making others better, and improving themselves. They have both played a big part to getting where we are at. I hope at some point they can look back and be proud to say I was a part of that." 

NEXT GAME
South Alabama awaits the draw for the 2019 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Tournament. Round one of the tournament will be held on campus sites with the round two through the championship held in New Orleans, La at the Lakefront Arena. 

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

—USA—