MOBILE, Ala. – With a career-high 22 points, Mahogany Vaught led the University of South Alabama women's basketball team to its second conference win of the season in a 73-65 victory over Arkansas State at the Mitchell Center on Thursday.
Following Vaught, Destiny Samuel had 10 points along with a team high seven rebounds — one shy of her season record — and one block.
For the Red Wolves Jireh Washington had a game-best 25 points. Morgan Wallace followed with 11 points and Trinitee Jackson with 10. The duo also recorded 14 rebounds each, the most of any player.
GAME FACTS
- The Red Wolves started the first period with a 10-4 advantage over the first five minutes.
- South responded with nine points in the next two minutes. The teams alternated buckets for the remainder of the period with South Alabama leading by three at 16-19.
- South spent the first five minutes of the second period putting up nine additional unanswered points.
- The Jaguar defense held the Red Wolves to no field goals for seven straight minutes, allowing just two sets of free throws during that time frame.
- A-State attempted to close the gap to end the half with a Szydlowska three-pointer and two more free throws, however, South headed into the locker room with a 36-28 advantage.
- South outscored Arkansas State by just one in the third period to hold on to the 56-47 lead heading into the fourth.
- The Red Wolves held to no field goals for the final four and a half minutes, however, the Jags seven free throws in the last 52 seconds secured the win.
- South had 22 points from the bench compared to Arkansas State's seven.
NOTES
- South Alabama extended its win streak over A-State to three and earned its first regular season win over the Red Wolves since 2020.
- South held Arkansas State to just one three-point field goal for the game, giving the Red Wolves just 6.3 percent from beyond the arc, the lowest of any opponent.
- This is the third straight contest a Jag has scored 20 points or more.
- It was also the third consecutive game that the squad shot 40 percent or better from the field, a feat accomplished just three times last season.
- In addition to her career best 22 points, Vaught went 9-for-14 from the field, her most field goals in a single game.
- Dee Haymer has led the Jags in rebounds in three of the last four games.
- For the second time this season Tyrielle Williams recorded five assists, leading South in the category for the sixth time.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Terry Fowler
- Opening statement: "That was a great home win, Arkansas State came in here on a winning streak, they have been playing really well. I thought we started fast scoring 19 points in the first quarter, and we played a really good second quarter. We've been talking about trying to simplify a lot of things for our team to this point — win the quarter. We won every quarter except the fourth, and that translates to a win. I couldn't be more proud of how we handled things, offensively we were in a flow early. Toward the end of the game we were trying to slow down possessions and they were able to make free throws. The biggest thing was they were scoring off free throws, we need to stop fouling, but I was proud of our team."
- On the team's recent improved play: "We have 11 new players without a returning leading scorer, the known all-conference player, so everybody came in trying to figure out where they could fit in and their role. It takes time, so now we're at game 15-16 and we're starting to understand where I can fit in and how I can help this team win. That's been a good thing."
- On the play of Mahogany Vaught against the Red Wolves: "She got off to a good start. We talked about it all week, you need to get in the pain against these guys and she started out attacking them. She scored in every kind of way, whether it was a two-foot jump-stop layup, a cut, a spin or a floater. She just had it going and kept attacking the rim. The biggest thing for me is she has 22 points on 14 attempts, that's just an efficient game."
Senior G Mahogany Vaught
- On the win: "It was a big win for us, really any win is good. I feel like we keep improving each game, we're excited about that."
- On her performance in the game: "It was just playing well with my team, making the right cuts. Just having good practice this week translated to the game."
- On why the team has played well recently: "I think we are just finding our identity and learning from our losses along the way. We're a new team and are just improving day by day."
UP NEXT
South Alabama will host Little Rock on Jan. 22 in 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 the 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.
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