MONROE, La. — The South Alabama Lady Jaguars cut a 16-point second-half deficit to a single point, but Louisiana-Monroe pulled away down the stretch for a 67-58 Sun Belt Conference win.
Jessica Starling led South Alabama with 18 points, and Shakira Nettles added 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers in the second half.
Slow Start
South Alabama made only three of its first 13 shots. The Lady Jaguars pulled within three points with about eight and a half minutes left in the first half when Starling was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made two of three free throws.
Those were South Alabama’s only points over the next four minutes. Louisiana-Monroe went on a 13-2 run that ended when Karina Sproal scored on a layup with just under four and a half minutes left in the half.
Siedah Banks and Starling helped South Alabama get within nine, but Louisiana-Monroe led 33-22 at halftime.
Rally From 16 Down
Louisiana-Monroe opened the second half by extending its lead to 41-25 in the first 3:15.
Nettles, who had been held without a field goal against Middle Tennessee and through the first half against Louisiana-Monroe, then hit two 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the half and back-to-back 3-pointers with less than 14 minutes to go, pulling South Alabama within 41-31.
Louisiana-Monroe pushed the lead back to 46-33 with under nine and a half minutes remaining. The Lady Jaguars answered with a 15-5 run over roughly five minutes to get within 51-48 with under five minutes left, and a Starling layup made it 51-50.
Louisiana-Monroe outscored South Alabama 16-8 the rest of the way, with most of its points coming at the free-throw line as the Lady Jaguars were forced to foul.
Pietri: ‘We Are Definitely in a Valley’
“There are peaks and valleys in a season and we are definitely in a valley right now,” South Alabama coach Rick Pietri said. “We couldn’t make the plays we had to make to go ahead and finish it off once we got it to one possession.”
Individual Leaders
Starling shot 5-of-15 from the field and 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Nettles finished 5-of-14 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. They were the only Lady Jaguars in double figures.
Louisiana-Monroe had three double-digit scorers. Lottie Moore led all players with 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 1-of-3 from 3-point range and 8-of-15 at the line. Ashley Wallis scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and made all five of her free throws. Jesse Carrier had 11 points, making 1 of 8 field goals and 1 of 3 3-pointers while going 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
By the Numbers
South Alabama shot 29 percent for the game and 24 percent in the first half. Louisiana-Monroe shot 37 percent overall and 39 percent in the first half, and made 73 percent of its free throws, attempting 25 in the second half alone.
Louisiana-Monroe outrebounded South Alabama 48-42 and held a 20-18 edge in points in the paint. South Alabama led in points off turnovers (14-11), second-chance points (14-12), fast-break points (4-0) and bench points (8-5).
Up Next
South Alabama hosts in-state rival Troy on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Mitchell Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
