MOBILE, Ala. – A'Tyanna Gaulden scored 15 points on Saturday to lead Georgia Southern to a 78-71 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over the University of South Alabama at the Mitchell Center.

Daeja Holmes added 13 points and Shondell Vickers had 12 points along with a game-high nine rebounds to help the Eagles (5-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) split two games over the weekend with the Jaguars.

Antoinette Lewis paced South (4-4, 1-1) with 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, with Mahogany Vaught contributing 15 points and the duo of Devyn Lowe and Jayla Morrow scoring 11 each.

Georgia Southern 78, South Alabama 71 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-USA held the Eagles without a field goal for nearly five minutes in the middle of the first quarter and ended the period with a 22-14 advantage.
-The Jaguars shot 20 points better than GS — hitting 54.5 from the floor while the Eagles connected on 34.3 percent — in the first half and led 40-34 at the intermission.
-After South extended the lead to 45-36, the Eagles went on a 13-0 run over the next four-plus minutes and were ahead 54-50 at the end of the quarter.
-The Jags pulled within a point twice in the fourth period, and were down just two with under a minute to go when Tatum Barber grabbed an offensive rebound as the shot clock expired and hit a layup to seal the game for the Eagles.
-GS shot 53.8 percent after the break, adding 15 free throws over the final 20 minutes.
-The Eagles outrebounded USA 41-29, including finishing with a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

NOTES
-Although the Eagles picked up their first win over the Jaguars since 2017, South still leads the all-time series 12-8.
-Lewis moved past Annie Witherington (1980-81) into eighth place on the school's all-time scoring list with the performance, her first time in double figures since the Jags visited Auburn on Dec. 13.
-Her block total was a season-high figure as well.
-Not only did Vaught continue her streak of scoring 10 or more points in each of her seven appearances this winter, it was the third straight outing she has paced South in assists after finishing with a game-high-tying four.
-Lowe has connected on multiple three-point field goals in three straight contests — the first time in her career she has achieved the feat — while posting her fourth game in a row with 10 or more points.
-Morrow has now hit 11 three-pointers on the season, the same total she recorded in 24 appearances a year ago.
-Jaylen Mallard is averaging 8.3 points and seven rebounds per contest in the Jaguars' last three outings.
-Casey Ferguson finished with a season high after scoring seven points, all in the first half, without missing a shot; she connected on her only attempt from the floor — from beyond the arc — while going 4-of-4 at the foul line.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "It's disappointing, we fought and had some chances.  We didn't manage as well as we needed to coming off of the back-to-back.  We gave ourselves a chance but they got the offensive rebound at the end with the shot clock expiring, that was the difference in the ball game.  Throughout the game — and especially the second half — they were able to get to the paint and score at the rim.  That was something we did a real good job yesterday of not letting them do that, but today they were able to do it."
On playing Georgia Southern two straight days: "It's a different mentality when you're playing the same opponent.  If one team loses they have a different mindset the next day, I think that's the part everyone is going to have to adjust to."
On preparing for next weekend's games: "I thought we had a real good week of preparation this week, we need to have the same this week.  If there is something I would like to improve on it is transition defense, when they had two-on-ones and three-on-twos they were able to convert those because I thought we were committing too soon to the ball handler and giving them an open layup.  And we need to work on taking care of the basketball as well."

Senior forward/center Antoinette Lewis
On the game: "I think in the third quarter they had more energy than us, we said in our huddles that it looked like they want to win more than we did and it showed; we didn't turn it back on."
On playing back-to-back contests: "Of course we're tired and worn out, but I think this is something we're used to knowing that we've done it in conference tournaments.  But it is hard to wake up and do a back-to-back, especially against the exact same team."
On what the team needs to do to get ready for Coastal Carolina: "Let this game go.  It's in the past, you can't change the result, what happened happened.  Now it's time to focus on recovery and to come out this week ready to be consistent in practice and give ourselves an opportunity to win both games next week."

Up next: South will play host to Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m. (CST) Friday.

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—