PENSACOLA, Fla.- The South Alabama women's basketball team closed out their season in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament Tuesday afternoon, falling to Marshall at the Pensacola Bay Center in a 59-73 final.
 
South got off to a slow start as the Thundering Herd began the game on a 14-4 run. The Jaguars struggled to contain the fiery shooting from Marshall as they entered the second quarter behind 21-8.
 
South's offense found life midway through the second quarter as Michiyah Simmons connected on two threes to cut the deficit to seven. The Jaguars closed out the quarter on a high note as senior guard Nadio Howard drilled a three at the 1:01 mark. South Alabama's defense improved drastically as they outscored Marshall 20-18 in the second. The Jaguars headed into the half behind 28-39.

South's shooting woes found them in the third quarter as they struggled to convert from the field. Marshall took advantage, extending their lead to as much as 24. South continued to fight on as they entered the final quarter down 37-56.
 
Nadia Howard helped the Jaguars put a dent in the lead as the fourth began. The Grayson, Georgia native recorded 11 of her 16 points in the fourth to help South make a final push. Despite their best efforts, the Jaguars struggled to recover from the third quarter as they closed out the regular season, falling 59-73.

STATS
In her final career game with the Jaguars, Nadia Howard recorded a season-high 16 points with five rebounds. Tara Green added in valuable minutes off the bench, recording nine points and three rebounds. Rachel Leggett chipped in nine points with five rebounds to round out the scoring for South.
 
QUOTES
Head coach Yolisha Jackson on the result, "Today was a tough day for us. Every year you have a different team and I am just so proud of the way this team bonded and set the culture and we couldn't have done that without players like Rachel Leggett and Nadia Howard. This is definitely not the ending we were hoping for as we felt that we were trending up these last few weeks but I am super proud of these kids and how they responded to adversity all year long and how they laid the foundation for the future".
 
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