Box Score MOBILE, Ala. – With three players in double figures Troy defeated the University of South Alabama women's basketball team 80-60 at the Mitchell Center on Saturday.
Za'Nautica Downs led the Trojans with 12 points and Tiyah Johnson and Amber Leggett had 11 points each. Felmas Koranga had a game high 13 rebounds in addition to a steal.
Jaylin Powell was the only Jaguar with double figures at 20 points for the game. Destiny Samuel had eight rebounds for South followed by Mahogany Vaught with seven rebounds and six assists.
GAME FACTS
- Troy went on a 10-2 run over the first five minutes of the contest.
- With three minutes left in the first period the Jags scored three treys, two of which were consecutive three pointers by Tyrielle Williams.
- The Trojans finished off the quarter with seven straight points which bled into five more at the start of the second for a 12-point run, their largest of the game.
- South responded with its largest run of six points, consisting of three straight field goals, two of which were scored by Janelle Jones.
- With three minutes left in the half layups from Samuel and Haymer narrowed the Jags' deficit to 11 points, however, Troy's 9-2 stretch to finish the period gave the team a 44-26 lead at halftime.
- Within the first two minutes of the third period South scored two field goals, however, Troy's defense held the Jags scoreless for the following four minutes.
- Nadia Howard, who had seven points in the third quarter, ended the Jags' scoring drought with a second chance layup.
- Vaught and Powell aided Howard in her attempt to narrow the gap but the Trojans lead never fell below 20 points, ending the quarter ahead at 66-45.
- Powell went on to score 14 of the Jags' 15 points in the final period featuring three treys in the 10-minute span.
- Despite the effort South fell to its rival 80-60 for its fifth straight loss.
NOTES
- South Alabama's second loss to Troy this season gives the Trojans six straight wins in the series, leaving them one win shy of matching its longest streak in the overall series.
- The last time South had five consecutive losses was in the 2017-18 season when the squad lost all but one game in February.
- South committed 24 turnovers in the contest marking a new season high.
- Troy, who leads the country in free throws, added 21 to its total for 440 this season while the Jags matched its season low of four free throws.
- This is the third time this season South has recorded double digit three-point field goals with today's total at 10, double its opponent's total.
- The contest marks Powell's fourth time this season to record 20 or more points with the last occasion against Louisiana alongside Howard.
- Williams has now connected on two three pointers for the past four games, matching her career high each time.
- Destiny Samuel matched her best rebounding total, last set at Alabama State in November, giving her the most of any Jag.
- For the third time this season Vaught surpassed five assists with a total of six leaving her one shy of her career best.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Terry Fowler
- Opening Statement: "The game today started off similar to last week but we were able to score a little more. Again, the first quarter was a killer for us. From there the three quarters were pretty even. There were some keys to the game that we talked about: transitions and defense. I think we did well stopping some of their fast break opportunities. We talked about not fouling them because they average 20 free throws a game but they got 21 today. Plus their offensive rebounding gave them 21 points off of 30 offensive boards. Then we had nine turnovers at the half which they converted to 17 points and ultimately had 24 turnovers so they ended up with 34 points off of that. It was a similar game but I thought we competed a lot better. When I talked to the team I just said we have to get better, we have to keep moving to get through these games before the conference tournament."
- On finishing out the season: "We do have the ability to make a run, we have the pieces we just have to get everybody clicking at the same time. We got some shots tonight they just didn't go down early on. When you are missing shots offensively its makes a difference on how you play defense. There was improvement from last week to this week. We moved it better, we shared it better, we got shots but we just have to learn from this and keep moving forward."
Graduate F Jaylin Powell
-On moving forward after tonight's loss: "Moving forward we just have to be better and learn from our mistakes. Rebounding was a killer for us, turnovers were a killer for us so have to learn from those mistakes and make adjustments going into the rest of this season and into post season."
-On what started clicking on for her in the fourth quarter: "The shots just started falling, that's all, sometimes that's just what happens."
UP NEXT
South Alabama will host Georgia Southern on February 17 at 7 p.m.
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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