MOBILE, Ala. – Mahogany Vaught recorded 20 points while Antoinette Lewis finished with a double-double to help lead the University of South Alabama to a 68-57 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over Coastal Carolina at the Mitchell Center on Friday.

Vaught finished 9-of-13 from the field, adding five rebounds, five assists and six steals, while Lewis posted 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Jaguars improved to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference.  Jayla Morrow added 13 points and Devyn Lowe scored 10 while Jaylen Mallard chipped in with eight rebounds.

Aja Blount led the Chanticleers (3-2, 0-1 SBC) with 11 points while Deaja Richardson added 10 off the bench.

South Alabama 68, Coastal Carolina 57 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-After a Casey Ferguson three put the Jags up 13-8 midway through the opening period, the Chanticleers closed on a 10-2 run to lead 18-15 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
-South limited CCU to 36-percent shooting and forced the Chants into seven turnovers in the second period to take a 35-31 lead at the half.
-USA scored six of the first eight points after the break to extend the advantage to eight, the eventual margin at the end of the period as the Jaguars led 55-47 going to the final quarter.
-The Jags allowed the Chanticleers to shoot 25 percent in the last period, and held a double-digit lead over the final six-and-a-half minutes.
-South forced 22 turnovers, scoring 29 points off those miscues, in the contest.

NOTES
-USA snapped the Chanticleers' two-game win streak in the series, and now have a 5-4 mark all-time against CCU.
-The Jaguars' 11 turnovers were four fewer than their previous low in the category this season.
-It was the third time in the last four contests that South has scored more than half its points in the paint, with the Jags finishing the night having outscored CCU 34-24 in the lane.
-USA was able to accomplish the feat even though it launched a season-high 37 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
-Vaught reached the 20-point plateau for the first time in her career while surpassing her previous career-high scoring total set in her season debut against Tulane on Dec. 1.
-The guard also handed out five or more assists for the third time in South's last five outings, while it was the second occasion this year she was credited with five-plus steals.
-It was the first time Lewis posted a double-figure rebounding total since a Dec. 13 game at Auburn, with the total her highest of the year in the category.
-The double-double was the fourth of the campaign for the forward/center as well.
-It was a season-high scoring total for Morrow, who has now posted more than 10 points in each of the last four outings.
-Lowe — who has the longest active streak on the team having scored in double digits in the last five games — recorded five or more rebounds in a contest for the first time since pulling down a season-best seven in a win over William Carey on Dec. 8.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "Today was an emotional day for us.  With everything in the nation's capitol this week, our team had a heart-to-heart conversation before practice yesterday and I wasn't sure we were going to practice.  Today we picked up the mood a little bit.  I'm so proud of them how they came out and played today, dealing with their emotions from everything that's going on. There were teams that didn't get to play this week in the Sun Belt, we need to take advantage of every opportunity we have and don't take it for granted.  You could see them perk up, I thought that was huge for us.  We did a great job on Aja Blount tonight, she came here last season and had a career high scoring.  We won this game on the defensive end of the floor, which we hadn't done that all year; that's what I'm proud of the most, that we were able to come in and really play well on the defensive end of the floor."
On defending Aja Blount: "We gave her different looks, the kids stepped up to the challenge.  We didn't let her get into a rhythm, hopefully we can come here with the same game plan tomorrow."
On how the pandemic has affected the season: "It's about the opportunities, don't take them for granted.  At the end of last season, we were going to the semifinals of the Sun belt Conference Tournament and all of the sudden it's done.  We had no assurance that we were going to play this season, so everyday that we get to go out on the floor — whether it's practice or games — it's an opportunity to play a game we love."

Senior forward/center Antoinette Lewis
On the game: "Coach Fowler told us before the game that typically this season our theme has been a let down in the third quarter.  We start fast, we finish strong, but the third quarter is just where we get lackadaisical, so he challenged us to step it up and be consistent and be the team we are daily in the period.  I think accepting that challenge is what helped us today."
On the team's emphasis on rebounding coming into play: "We know that they're a great rebounding team like Troy, so finding bodies, boxing out and limiting them to one shot is going to help us in the long run."
On the energy of the Jaguars: "It's something that we practice.  It all starts in practice, you practice how you play.  We challenge ourselves and we compete in practice so we knew it was going to correlate to the game."

Junior guard Mahogany Vaught
On the win against the Chanticleers: "A win is always a big win, especially coming off the last game. Preparation in practice prepared us to get the 'W' today."
On the mindset coming into the day: "Coach Fowler told us before the game that there were teams not playing today so we don't want to miss an opportunity to play the game of basketball, because we almost had it taken away from us."
On her offensive performance: "I have just been putting up a lot of shots and feeling comfortable during the game because of how I have been working out and practicing.  I am trying to get better consistently every day at practice with my teammates and my coaches."

Up next: USA will face the Chanticleers again on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST).

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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—USA—