Exhibition Game: vs. Montevallo Game Notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will see its first action of the season Friday night when it welcomes Montevallo to the Mitchell Center for an exhibition game. Tip-off versus the Falcons is set for 7 p.m. and admission is free. The meeting will be the first between the two clubs since the 1985-86 season.
Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.
Coming into the exhibition, third-year head coach Terry Fowler is looking for a few key things out of his club, especially with all of the new talent.
"As always, we are looking for great effort, togetherness and execution out on the court," Fowler said. "We have several new players on this roster who will be playing their first college game on Friday and the biggest thing for them will just be getting the experience of with the lights on and everything else that comes with that. We want them to be able to ease into things and just relax and not worry about the nervousness that they are going to have. I want us to focus on great effort and playing together. If we do that, everything else will fall into place."
After three-and-a-half of practice, Fowler likes where his club is at heading into the match up versus Montevallo.
"We started fall practice really well and then had a bit of a lull," Fowler said. "We've kind of picked it back up lately. I think our players are anxious and ready to play someone else other than themselves. I feel our chemistry is a lot better at this point of the year. I like the young talent that we have right now. They just haven't played at this level and haven't faced another opponent yet. I really like where we are at when it comes to understanding our concepts. We are a lot better in that area than we have been in the past.
South Alabama is coming off a 5-24 overall record and a 2-18 mark in the Sun Belt a year ago. The Jaguars were picked by the league coaches to finish 10th in this year's preseason poll.
USA returns seven letterwinners from last season's squad, led by the sophomore duo of Marquita Daniels and Chyna Ellis.
Daniels enters the 2015-16 season as the top returning scorer for the club. The Atlanta, Ga., native averaged 10.4 ppg, while also leading the team in assists (47) and steals (53). Her 53 steals were the second-most ever by a freshman at South Alabama.
Ellis, who was selected to the Sun Belt Conference's preseason third team last month, played in 28 games as a true freshman for the Jags, starting 23. The 6-2 center averaged 8.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per outing. Her 7.8 rebounds where fifth-best in the SBC.
Ellis also ranked first in the league in blocks with 2.0 per game. Her 56 blocks were not only fifth-most in a single-season, but also set a new freshman mark in that category. Ellis led the club with seven double-doubles and was tied for fourth in the SBC in offensive rebounds (2.9) and tied for fifth in defensive rebounds (4.9).
The Jaguars will have to replace all-conference selection Breanna Hall, who led the club with 15.4 points per game and accounted for 27.4 percent of South Alabama's offensive production. Hall also ranked as one of the top three-point shooters in the league, knocking down 64 treys and averaging 40.8 percent from outside the arc.
USA also welcomes seven newcomers to the squad – redshirt freshmen Genesis Perrymond, Erin Autio and Candice Williams, and true freshmen D'Andra Pringle, Christen Carter, Alyese Givens and India Hall. Williams will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Montevallo is coming off a 1-25 season a year ago and a 0-19 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. The Falcons were picked to finish 14th during the preseason and ended the '14-15 campaign on a 20-game losing streak.
Montevallo returns four starters from last season's team, seniors Jacquelyn Thompson, Katherine Goldsby and Katie Colson, and sophomore forward Katija Tarailo.
Thompson led the club and ranked ninth in the PBC in scoring with 14.7 points per game. She also ranked third in the conference from behind the arc, knocking down 40.1 percent of her three-point attempts. The Huntsville, Ala., native was deadly from long range as she recorded 81 treys and averaged 3.4 per game, which led the Peach Belt.
Goldsby ranked second on the club offensively with 9.5 ppg. The 5-8 guard led the Falcons on the glass with 6.0 rebounds and was also the top defensive player out on the perimeter with 39 steals.
Like the Jags, Montevallo also brings in a wealth of new talent, welcoming six newcomers to the squad in 2015-16. Among the newcomers possibly looking to make an impact in the lineup is junior college transfer Haven Albright. Albright averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 53.3 percent from the field a year ago at Wallace State Community College.
In the post fellow JUCO transfer RayVon Christian and true freshman Ashley Dunstan are possible options as well. Dunstan averaged 19.1 ppg as a senior at Russellville High School.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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