STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern limited the University of South Alabama to just one field goal over the final nine minutes of the third quarter to open up a double-digit lead on the way to a 68-56 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball win Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Daeja Holmes and Simone James led the Eagles (7-8, 3-5 Sun Belt) with 11 points apiece, while Mya Burns, Ja'Nya Love-Hill and Sarah Moore each chipped in with nine as well.

Savannah Jones paced all players with 17 points for the Jaguars (8-6, 5-3 SBC), who got eight points from Jaylen Mallard and seven from both Devyn Lowe and Mahogany Vaught.  Antoinette Lewis also contributed a game-best nine rebounds for South as well.

Georgia Southern 68, South Alabama 56 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-GS made its final five shots from the field in the first quarter and led 16-15 at the end of the opening 10 minutes of the game.
-South closed the second period on an 8-2 run to go ahead 31-28 at the half.
-The Eagles limited the Jags to 2-of-16 shooting, outscoring USA 22-4 in the third period to open up a 50-35 advantage.
-Jones scored 10 points in the first half of the final period to draw the Jaguars within three points, 55-52, however the Eagles answered with the next seven points to build their lead back to double digits.
-GS shot 45.1 percent from the field, nearly 10 points higher than South (36.8%).
-The Eagles finished with a 43-25 rebounding advantage.

NOTES
-The Jaguars remain ahead in the all-time series 13-9, including holding a 6-5 edge in Statesboro.
-The two teams split four games in the regular-season series, with South winning the opening contest both weekends.
-It's the first time the Jags have forced the opposition into 25 or more turnovers since William Carey had 25 on Dec. 17, 2019.
-USA equaled a season high — first set at Auburn last month — with 15 steals.
-The Jags' 25 rebounds were four less than the figure they recorded in a Jan. 2 loss against the Eagles as well as their fewest of the season thus far.
-It marked the 70th occasion dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season that Jones has scored 10-plus points.
-With a game-best three blocked shots, Lewis became the third player in school history — and 11th ever in the Sun Belt — to post 200 in a career.
-The senior center/forward added a season-high five steals, making it the first time she has posted more than one in back-to-back contests since accomplishing the feat in three straight outings from Dec. 5-13.
-Lowe matched a season-high total in the category, first recorded on Dec. 20 at New Orleans, as well after finishing the game with three.
-Jayla Morrow also added a pair of steals, the 10th game in row that she has been credited with at least one; it was the seventh occasion during that stretch the senior has recorded multiple thefts.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
On the game: "This was a really disappointing loss, we didn't shoot the ball well yesterday so I thought we would come back and shoot it better today."
On the third quarter: "The key was the third quarter, it's been our Kryptonite all year along.  We weren't able to get any shots to fall and they were able to go down and convert on their end of the floor.  We made just two shots and were 0-for-8 from three, and they went down and not only made shots but were able to get to the free-throw line."
On what was said to the team entering the final period: "At the end of the third quarter we talked about playing one possession at a time, getting one stop and one score to hopefully put ourselves in a situation where we could win the ball game.  I've always been a big believer that it's easy to come back, but it's very difficult to come back and win.  We got it [the deficit] down to three, then they hit a three from the corner to give them some breathing room and they were able to make plays the rest of the quarter."
On preparing for Georgia State next week: "It will be a quick turnaround because we are playing on Thursday for the first time in league play.  We have to make sure our kids get time to focus on recovery, then we have to take care of us as much as learn about what Georgia State does.  We'll start to prep on Monday, we're at home so we have to be ready to take care of business in the Mitchell Center next week."

Up next: The Jaguars will return home to take on Georgia State, with the first of two games against the Panthers tipping off at 6 p.m. (CST) Thursday 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

—USA—