CONWAY, S.C. – Both Savannah Jones and Jayla Morrow recorded 20-point games while the University of South Alabama made more than half of its attempts from three-point range in picking up a 95-75 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball win Saturday over Coastal Carolina at the HTC Center.

Jones led all scorers with 22 points while Morrow chipped in with 21 after making all eight shots from the field — including a career-best five three-pointers — as the Jaguars improved to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the Sun Belt on the season.  Mahogany Vaught added 13 points and six assists, Casey Ferguson finished with 12 points and Antoinette Lewis paced all individuals with nine rebounds as well.

Deaja Richardson recorded a team-leading 17 points for the Chanticleers (3-8, 0-7 SBC), who were playing for the first time since Jan. 23.  Tiarra Davis supplied 16 points, Janae Camp finished with 12 and seven rebounds, and Aja Blount also scored 11 points for CCU.

South Alabama 95, Coastal Carolina 75 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-The Jaguars were 7-of-10 from behind the arc in building a 32-12 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
-South connected on 66.7 percent from the field overall and had three players in double figures in the first half to go up 58-37 at the intermission.
-USA limited the Chanticleers to 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) shooting from the field in the third period while extending its lead to 82-52.
-The Jags shot 57.1 percent from the floor overall including making 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) attempts from beyond the arc.
-South was credited with 22 assists on its 36 field goals.
-Although both teams were charged with 16 turnovers, the Jaguars outscored CCU 25-13 off of those miscues.

NOTES
-With South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler taking care of family matters this weekend associate head coach Dan Presel was in charge of the team on the bench.
-It was the most points the Jaguars have scored in first period, opening half and overall this season.
-The Jags' three-point field goal total set a school game record — besting the previous mark of 16 set in a Jan. 7, 2006 victory at Troy — and were the most in the Sun Belt this year.
-It marked the first occasion that USA has shot 50 percent or better since defeating Nicholls on Dec. 5, while it was the first time the Jaguars accomplished the feat on the road since beating Georgia State in Atlanta on Jan. 16 last winter.
-That GSU victory was also the last time South was credited with 20-plus assists in a game prior to today.
-Morrow and Jones became the fourth and fifth individuals on the team to score 20 or more points in a contest this year.
-It's the first occasion since defeating Arkansas State on March 10 last season in the opening round of the SBC Tournament that the Jags have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game.
-The scoring total was a career high for Morrow, surpassing her previous best of 16 points set in a win over Alabama State on Dec. 9, 2018.
-After making 6-of-9 shots from beyond the arc, Jones now has 262 three-pointers in her career as she moved past Middle Tennessee's Brandi Brown into third place on the Sun Belt's all-time list in the category.
-It marked the fifth time this winter that Vaught has recorded five or more assists in game, although it was the first occasion the junior guard has paced USA in the category since a Jan. 16 outing at Appalachian State.
-Ferguson also posted a career-high scoring total after reaching double figures for the second time in her career; her previous best was 11 points against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 15 a season ago.
-Not only did Lewis pace South on the boards for the 10th contest in a row, she increased her career total to 1,016 to move into the top 10 on the all-time rebounding list in the Sun Belt.

THEY SAID IT
Associate head coach Dan Presel
On the fast start in the first quarter: "The fast start was a carryover from a week of good practice.  We have a group of veteran players who understand how to play and what's required to win on the road."
On the team's shooting in the game: "We made a lot of shots and set some personal highs in our shooting drills in in practice this week.  The law of averages was in our favor; we haven't shot it well the last few weeks, but we're a much better shooting team than what the numbers indicate.  We did a great job of moving and sharing the ball and finding open players.  It's been a point of emphasis for us, today it carried over so we were getting extremely high-quality shots as a result of unselfish play and finding players in correct spots.  And when Savannah Jones has nine attempts from three, it's usually good for your shooting percentage."
On Jayla Morrow: "Jayla played fantastic today, she's a senior who has been through a lot with us and probably doesn't get the credit she deserves for how much she brings to our program.  She can always make shots, sometimes we have to encourage her to shoot it more often.  She has been a really good veteran presence for us and a team leader, and I think she is one of the best defensive players in our league.  I can't say enough about what she means to our program."
On the play of Savannah Jones: "Savannah is a multiple all-conference award winner so she gets the No. 1 defensive assignment every night, teams scheme for her; when you get that much attention it's very difficult to perform at the level that's expected of you.  The thing I think she doesn't get credit for is how well she can pass and how willingly she shares the ball, she did that today.  It was great to see her get some open threes, they play a lot of zone so it gave her some opportunities to get her feet set and get the shot up.  It's probably harder for her to get nine attempts than it is to make six.  She did a good job defensively too, she's been an anchor for us and showed today why she's one of the best players in school history.  I have a lot of respect for Savannah."

Up next: The Jaguars and Chanticleers will meet for the fourth, and final, time during the regular season on Saturday, with opening tip scheduled for noon p.m. (CST) at the HTC 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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