HATTIESBURG, Miss.- South Alabama dropped their road contest to Southern Miss in Reed Green Coliseum in a 78-49 final Saturday afternoon. 

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair from both sides, exchanging bucket after bucket. Rachel Leggett and Daniela Gonzalez carried the load on offense for South in the opening quarter, combining for 10 of the Jaguars' 14 points. The hosts would grab the advantage heading into the second after a couple of made threes to take an 18-14 lead. 

South Alabama had a strong start to the second quarter by going on an 8-2 run. The Jaguars would take a quick 22-20 lead after another basket by Rachel Leggett. The Golden Eagles would not back down easily, as they pushed out ahead and took the lead due to efficient shooting from behind the arc. South Alabama helped put a dent in the lead as time winded down with a layup from Daniela Gonzalez to make it 33-24 heading into the half. 

South started out hot as half two began with transition baskets from Nadia Howard and Alicia Spann. Chrysta Narcisse brought some momentum to the Jaguars by forcing a turnover and laying it up at the other end to make it a 35-30 contest. Unfortunately for South Alabama, the Golden Eagles went on an 18-2 run fueled by streaky shooting to extend their lead. The Jaguars continued to fight and make dents in the lead as they entered the fourth behind 62-38. 

The Jaguars showed great effort but struggled to contain the fiery Golden Eagles' offense as they fell in a 78-49 final. 

STATS

South Alabama shot 36.2% (21-58) as a team with Rachel Leggett leading the way with 12 points. Daniela Gonzalez would follow with 10 points as well as Alicia Spann chipping in eight. 

QUOTES

Yolisha Jackson on the result, "I think Southern Miss came out tonight super inspired and we did not do a good job defending in that third quarter. A couple of kids got hot and hit four threes in about two minutes and we just couldn't recover from that. We have to find a way to put the ball in the basket. At the end of the day we've got to get in the gym, get more shots up, and look at where we're getting shots from and see how we can be more efficient from the offensive side. We will get back to work and be ready for Thursday. 

UP NEXT

South Alabama will be back at the Mitchell Center this upcoming week where they will face Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday for a 7:00 PM tip-off. 

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