STATESBORO, Ga. – Mahogany Vaught and Antoinette Lewis each hit a layup in the final 20 seconds on Friday to help the University of South Alabama rally in the fourth quarter and pick up a 59-58 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball win over Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Vaught was 7-of-13 from the floor to finish with a team-high 16 points, while Lewis and Savannah Jones each pulled down 10 rebounds as the Jaguars improved to 8-5 overall and 5-2 in Sun Belt play.  Jayla Morrow chipped in with 10 points for the Jags as well.

Daeja Holmes led the Eagles (6-8, 2-5 SBC) with a game-high 18 points, including a three-pointer with nine seconds to go that gave GS a brief one-point advantage before Lewis answered three seconds later following a timeout.

South Alabama 59, Georgia Southern 58 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-The Jaguars forced seven turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, but the Eagles made 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc to go ahead 14-13 at the end of the quarter.
-After hitting one field goal in the first half of the second period, South used a 10-3 run to go up by four points in the final minute of the quarter before GS responded to tie the score 28-28 at the break.
-The Eagles scored 10 of their 16 third-quarter points in the paint to take a 44-40 lead to the final period.
-The Jags rebounded to go ahead 49-48 on a pair of Jadona Davis free throws, but GS scored the next seven points to make it a two-possession game with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
-Vaught hit a jump shot with 2:15 remaining to spark the rally, with USA forcing a pair of turnovers and two other missed shots down the stretch the complete the comeback.
-Both teams were charged with 21 turnovers in the contest, but the Jaguars limited the Eagles to just 31.7 percent shooting from the field.

NOTES
-This was the fifth straight win in the series in Statesboro for the Jaguars.
-South has now claimed two of the first three match-ups between the schools this year.
-Georgia Southern is one of two schools Jag head coach Terry Fowler has recorded a double-digit victory total against with tonight's win USA's 10th over the Eagles since he took over the program in 2013.
-The Jaguars have now held the opposition below 40 percent shooting from the field on five occasions in league play, winning each of those contests.
-South improved to 6-0 this season when making more free throws than its opponent.
-It's the first time Vaught has scored in double digits since posting a career-best 20 points in a win over Coastal Carolina on Jan. 8.
-That was also the last occasion Morrow had recorded 10 or more points prior to tonight's contest.
-It was the sixth game in a row that Lewis has led the Jaguars on the glass.
-Jones has now recorded a double-figure rebounding total in two of her four appearances this season, the same number of times she had accomplished the feat in her career entering the year.
-Davis had scored nine points in the previous five games combined coming into play.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
On the team's play down the stretch: "The last two minutes of the ball game I thought our team played some really good defense, we rebounded the basketball and kept giving ourselves a chance at the end.  That's all we wanted to do."
On Mahogany Vaught: "Mahogany took it upon herself to make some big plays.  Late in the ball game she hit a short little pull-up jumper, she finished at the basket and she knocked her free throws down.  It was huge for her to bring that out tonight."
On any adjustments that need to be made before the second game of the weekend: "I thought the biggest thing was that we got a lot of open opportunities that we weren't able to connect on, hopefully we can get those same looks and knock down some open shots and play from there.  We definitely have to play with the same type of defensive intensity that we did tonight."

Up next: USA and the Eagles will meet for the fourth — and final — time during the regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) at Hanner Fieldhouse.

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).

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