MOBILE, Ala. – In a game that saw six lead changes, it was the Nicholls Colonels who came out on top, defeating South Alabama 61-58 Monday night at the Mitchell Center.
 
South Alabama led by nine entering the fourth quarter, but a 25-point fourth quarter from the Colonels allowed them to battle back into the game. Down three, South Alabama had two strong looks late to tie the contest, but missed both, sealing the win for the Colonels.
 
South Alabama finished with two in double figures, with Jordan Rosier totaling 16 and Michiyah Simmons finishing with 15. The loss was Rosier's third game in double figures and the fifth for Simmons.
 
Under the rim, Zena Elias led the Jaguars with 10 rebounds, her third game this season finishing with double-digit rebounds.
 
Lexi Alexander led the Colonels with 25 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. Ashley Malone also finished in double figures, adding 11.
 
While South Alabama shot better from the field, 37.3 compared to 32.2 from Nicholls, the Colonels had the edge from behind the arc and from the free throw line, finishing the night shooting 28% from deep and 72% from the stripe, compared to 26% and 63% from the Jaguars.  
 
 
GAME FACTS

• South Alabama and Nicholls got off to a slow start, with the Jags up 6-2 with 4:52 left in the quarter.
• South kept the lead through the first quarter, up 14-7 after 10 minutes of action.
• The Jags and the Colonels traded baskets to start the second, but South still led 20-14 with 6:30 left in the half.
• South Alabama hit a scoring drought midway through the second but was able to hold a 22-21 lead with two minutes left in the half.
• Nicholls hit a buzzer-beater to close the half, taking a 26-24 lead.
• The Jags and the Colonels both hit baskets to open the third, then hit scoring droughts, with Nicholls up one with six left in the third.
• South used a 15-3 run to take another lead, up 45-36 at the end of one quarter.
• South Alabama hit a scoring drought halfway through the fourth quarter but still held onto a 50-45 lead with 5:02 left.
• Nicholls then took a 56-55 lead with two minutes left in the game.
• South cut the lead to three late but fell 61-58 in the tight matchup.

 
NOTES

• Nadia Howard started her first game of the season.
• Jordan Rosier led the Jags for the second time this season.
• Rosier finished in double figures for the third time this season.
• Michiyah Simmons finished in double figures for the fifth time this season.
• Zena Elias recorded her third double-digit rebounding game.
• South scored just 14 bench points, a season-low.

 
QUOTABLE
Head coach Yolisha Jackson:
Opening statement:
"Not our best performance tonight. Lexi Alexander for Nicholls was really special, she ended up with 25 points and 8 rebounds. We didn't do a good job of defending her in the multiple post-ups. That is something we really need to get better at, post-defense. We talked about two things we need to see an improvement on, and that was offensive rebounds and turnovers. We didn't do well on offensive rebounds, a lot of balls went through our hands tonight. We had 17 turnovers. On nights when you don't shoot the ball well, you have to be able to control that. The technical foul, the six-point swing, really hurt us. I've got to challenge my team with our character. We can't act like that. We have to control situations and handle our emotions better. We've got to bounce back and get ready to tackle FAMU on Friday."
 
On the two looks at the end of the game:
"We had two good looks at the end from Michiyah and Kelsey. It never comes down to the final possession. If we go back and look at it, some things happened in the game where we gave them life when we were on a run or we just missed open shots."
 
On preparing for FAMU:
"We need to improve our mindset. Who are we? We sort of know who we are and what we want to do offensively, defensively we are still figuring it out. Who are we as people and how are we going to attack adversity? That is my message to the team. Our thing is, we don't want to lose two games in a row. We lost two games in a row with Florida State and Nevada, and we are going to try and stop this train and pick up a win on Friday."
 
 
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