Sun Belt Conference News & Notes (.pdf)NEW ORLEANS – After leading the University of South Alabama women's basketball team to a pair of league wins this past week, Marquita Daniels was named the Sun Belt Conference's Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday as announced by the conference office. The honor is voted on by the 11 coaches from around the league.
The sophomore guard was also selected as the Sun Belt's Player of the Week on Monday by CollegeSportsMadness.com. Both honors are the first conference weekly accolades for Daniels. It is also the first time since the 2011-12 season that a Jaguar has been selected as the top player in the conference for a week during the regular season. Sarda Peterson was the last player from South Alabama to earn the honor, doing so twice that season.
Daniels' selection marks the 36th time and 15th player in program history to be named as the SBC's Player of the Week by the conference office.
Daniels earned the two weekly honors after leading the Jaguars to wins on the road to Troy (75-71) on Tuesday and at home against Appalachian State (71-55) on Saturday. The win versus the Mountaineers was the club's third-straight and fourth in its last five outings.
The Atlanta, Ga., native averaged 19.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg, while also adding five assists and three steals in her two games. Daniels shot 47.8 percent from the floor and hit 15 of her 18 free-throw attempts (.833), including nine of 10 in the final two minutes of each game.
The sophomore guard began her week with a 17-point performance on the road in a four-point win at Troy on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul line. Daniels came up big at the end of the last two quarters. With less than a minute to play in the third, she snuck behind the Trojan defense on an inbounds play for a breakaway layup to give USA some momentum. Daniels later sealed the win for the Jaguars as she hit all four of her free-throw attempts in the final 21 seconds.
On Saturday, Daniels led the Jaguars with a season-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting and had another solid night at the charity stripe, knocking down seven of her eight attempts. She also pulled down six rebounds and recorded a pair of steals. Daniels got off to a strong start, posting 12 first-half points.
As she did against Troy, Daniels was clutch in the final two minutes for the Jags against the Mountaineers. With USA holding a nine-point lead, Daniels scored seven of South Alabama's 12 points during a 12-0 run to seal the win. Daniels hit five of her six free-throw attempts in the final minute-and-a-half to give the Jaguars the victory.
Daniels and South Alabama (9-10, 5-5 SBC) currently sit in a tie with Troy for fifth in the Sun Belt entering play this week. The Jaguars will open up a two-game road swing in the state of Arkansas on Thursday night when they take on conference leader Arkansas State at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves are 16-3 on the year and 10-0 in conference play.
Live stats and both audio and web streaming for the contest versus the Red Wolves can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-game updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB. The game against ASU will also be aired on ESPN3.
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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