PENSACOLA, Fla. – South Alabama women's basketball (15-17, 5-13) defeated Texas State in the third round of the Sun Belt Tournament on Thursday, 69-59. The Jaguars will face Marshall (23-8, 13-5) at 11:30 a.m. CST on Friday at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

KEY MOMENTS:

• After nearly two minutes of play, Chrysta Narcisse drained a fastbreak jumper. Tamara Ortiz then stole the ball off a Bobcat turnover to assist Diawna Carter-Hartley in tallying her first three-pointer of the day. 
• The Jaguars would continue building momentum into the first quarter, going on a 12-2 run before a Texas State layup would break the streak. The Bobcats then responded with a 6-0 run, but the Jaguars would lead at the end of the quarter, 18-15.
• Though the Bobcats would open the second quarter with a layup from Kaliyah Murphy, both teams would face offensive struggles – neither scoring another field goal until the quarter was halfway over. The Jaguars would struggle at the glass, allowing Texas State to outscore them 14-6, and earn a 29-24 lead at the half.
• South Alabama was lights-out in the third quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 21-4 in the first nine minutes. The latter half of the quarter was highlighted by three Texas State turnovers and a four-minute scoring drought.
• After the Jaguars had earned the first half of their 21-4 run, former Jaguar Amyria Walker tallied a jumper to put the Bobcats within four. Then, in addition to scores from Ronaltha Marc and Diawna Carter-Hartley, true freshman Jeriyah Baines drained a layup and a three-pointer to give the Jaguars their largest lead of the day (14). Before Thursday's contest, Baines had not seen action in a game since Dec. 18, 2025 (at Southern Miss).
• South Alabama's momentum was stalled in the fourth quarter when the Bobcats went on an 11-0 run in two minutes. The Jaguars answered with another three-pointer from Baines and a layup from Alicia Spann.
• The Jaguars would dominate at the charity stripe to end the game, with Tamara Ortiz going 6-for-6. They would then earn the victory, 69-59.

 
KEY STATS:

• The Jaguars earned the victory without their three leading scorers: Amyah Sutton (11.94 PPG), Cordasia Harris (11.03 PPG) and Daniela Gonzalez (9.77 PPG).
• Tamara Ortiz broke two career-highs, recording 22 points and four steals.
• The Jaguars made 94.1% of their free-throw attempts, the most since they went 12-for-12 against JMU (min. 10 att., 2/2/23).
• True freshman Jeriyah Baines recorded career-highs in points (12), field goals (5) and three-pointers (2).
• South Alabama is averaging 42.0% from beyond the arc in the Sun Belt Tournament.
• Ronaltha Marc tallied a career-high six assists.

QUOTED:
Yolisha Jackson, Head Coach:

• On her "next man up" mentality:
  • "Everybody has the phrase 'next player up.' When you are put in that position, and your young women have a chance to put that on display, and they own it, you get a really proud and special feeling as a coach."
• On why Jag Nation should come to Pensacola:
  • "We're an hour down the road. Let's get out and support. It was great to see more fans in the stands who had on red, white and blue, but now you get to see both the [men's and women's] teams play on the same day. These young women have worked incredibly hard to get to day four. Jag Nation – show up, be loud and be ready to go."

Tamara Ortiz, Guard:

• "This team has a lot of love for each other, so we know that we had to bring it home…We went out there and played hard, and even when adversity hit, we still kept composure and kept going."

SURVIVE AND ADVANCE:

• South Alabama will move on to the fourth round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and face Marshall for the second time this season.
• The Jaguars are 0-4 against the Thundering Herd, their most recent contest a 69-60 deficit on Feb. 4 at the Mitchell Center.
• A win for the Jaguars on Friday would be their first in the fourth round since the 2018-19 season, when they defeated UT Arlington 57-50 on March 15. That Jaguar squad would go on to compete in the conference championship.

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION:
Friday's game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast. Tickets may be purchased on Ticketmaster. Be sure to follow the Jags' social media for live updates.

FOLLOW THE JAGS:
For complete coverage of South Alabama women's basketball, visit the official home of South Alabama Athletics at usajaguars.com and follow the Jags on social media: @SouthAlabamaWBB (X), /SouthAlabamaAthletics (Facebook), @SouthAlabamaWBB (Instagram).