MOBILE, Ala. – Alexus Dye recorded 17 points and 18 rebounds to help Troy recover from a 17-point first-half deficit and earn an 84-77 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over the University of South Alabama at the Mitchell Center Saturday.
Felmas Koranga added a double-double as well with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans (14-5, 10-2 Sun Belt), who also got 15 points and five assists from Jasmine Robinson and 11 points from Tiyah Johnson.
Savannah Jones and Jaylen Mallard each finished with a double-double for the Jaguars (11-9, 8-6 SBC), with the former posting 21 points and 11 rebounds and the latter contributing 11 and 13, respectively. Devyn Lowe came off the bench to supply 16 points, and Antoinette Lewis and Mahogany Vaught scored nine points apiece also.
Troy 84, South Alabama 77 (box score)
GAME FACTS
-The Jags limited Troy to 3-of-22 shooting (13.6 percent) from the field to open up a 22-12 lead at the end of the first period.
-After extending their advantage to as many as 17 points with just under seven minutes left in the opening half, the Jaguars were ahead 48-34 at the break.
-The Trojans scored 26 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six points with 10 minutes to go.
-Troy held South to 23.8 percent shooting while outscoring the Jags 24-11 in the final period.
-The Trojans forced 16 of USA's 28 turnovers in the second half, scoring a total of 23 points at the other end of the floor in the contest.
-Troy outscored the Jaguars 40-24 in the paint while also holding a 54-44 rebounding advantage.
NOTES
-Although it was the second straight year the Trojans have won the match-up between the two teams at the Mitchell Center, South owns a 15-10 edge in games played in Mobile in the all-time series.
-The Jags were credited with a season-best nine blocked shots, with Lewis and Jadona Davis contributing three apiece.
-USA connected on a season-best 80 percent at the foul line, including going 12-of-12 at the stripe in the second quarter.
-It was the third time in the last four outings that Jones has recorded 20-plus points.
-The redshirt senior had two double-doubles in 102 career appearances entering the season, but has now accomplished the feat twice during the 2020-21 campaign.
-Mallard's double-double was the first of her career as she ended the contest with a career-high rebounding total.
-It was the first occasion since Jones and Lewis accomplished the feat in a win over Arkansas State in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament on March 10 last season that two Jags have posted a double-double in the same game.
-Lowe reached double figures in the scoring column for the first time since USA's Jan. 16 contest at Appalachian State.
-Lewis moved into sole possession of second place on South's all-time blocks list as she now has 213 in her career.
-It was the 10th time this season that Vaught has led the Jags in assists after she handed out four on the day.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
Opening statement: "The biggest thing is we wanted to bounce back from Thursday's performance, that wasn't us. We knew that. I thought we had a good practice yesterday and a good shootaround today. We came out and we were able to execute what we wanted for most parts of the game. At the end what got us was live-ball turnovers, those turned into points for them. I'm proud of how our team responded. That's the thing we talked about, how are you going to respond, when you have ups and down and we responded today so we need to build off of this as we go into the final stretch of the season."
On looking ahead: "Troy's a really good ball club. We just have to take from this that we are a good basketball team as well. We've got to go out and show it every day in practice and then it has to translate on game day. We have to learn from it — that's the biggest thing — and we will. We're ready to get back at it on Monday and finish out the last homestand of the season against Appalachian State."
Redshirt senior guard Savannah Jones
On the game: "Troy has always been a good defensive and rebounding team. Today we tried to capitalize on re-bounding and getting back on defense. We got good results out of it, but we just couldn't finish the game."
On rebounding from Thursday's performance against the Trojans: "I know there are ups and downs in the game. I just stay aggressive shooting, I know that every shot isn't always going to go in but I try to stay positive and stay in the game."
On moving forward: "We aren't hanging our heads, we're elevating as a team and I feel like we're just now taking off. I don't think we're worried too much about these last two losses, I believe that as a team we're still getting better."
Up next: South begins its final weekend at home in the regular season with a 6 p.m. (CST) Friday match-up against Appalachian State 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).
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—USA—
