Lady Jags Win Preseason Exhibition Against West Florida 75-33
The South Alabama Lady Jaguar basketball team defeated West Florida Monday evening at the Mitchell Center 75-33. Junior College transfer Meghan Dunn scored a game-high 20 points off the bench to lead the Jags to the win the preseason exhibition game.
“The things she did out there in the game tonight, she’s also been doing in practice,” lady Jag head coach Rick Pietri said. “The fact that she’s now done those things in practice and in a game gives her the sense of being able to do them every day. She was very good tonight that’s for sure.”
Dunn finished the game 8-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-9 from the three point arc. Dunn also added three assists and three steals in the win. Mary Nixon added 14 points and lead the team with nine rebounds. Camille Reynolds knocked in 10 points as well. All 12 players on the team saw the court and contributed with 11 of them recording at least two points in the game.
Actually, the Lady Jag reserves had a 43-9 advantage in the game. The Jags were 30-of82 as a team and shot 36.6% from the floor and 28.1% (9-of-32) from three-point range.
“There were some positives and there were some things we needed to work on and that’s what an exhibition provides for you” coach Pietri said. “I wish we would’ve shot it from the perimeter better. Our team is a very good three-point shooting team. By percentage, we weren’t that tonight. We had a bunch of open looks, but we were able to finish some plays too. Defensively, we were solid. We did some good things in team defense. There are some things in team defense we need to work on and the film will show us. West Florida had some opportunities to finish play and didn’t. A better team might have finished those plays. Overall, it was a positive. We just have to build on it for the ones that count.”
With under 12 minutes left in the first half, the Jags held a slim 9-8 lead before they went on a 21-5 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes to break open the game. Two Jaguar freshmen got it started with Sharon Sanders and Brittany Webb each nailing long range shots from the left corner. Dunn then connected on a three-pointer from the right wing to extend the lead to 18-9. Dunn actually was the big spark during the run by scoring 11 of her 20 points during the run while connecting on three three-point shots.
The Lady Jags will open the season on the road against Houston Baptist on Friday. Tip off is set for 7pm.