MONROE, La. – Savannah Jones and Erin Autio combined for 34 points to lead South Alabama to a 67-60 victory over ULM Saturday (Jan. 27) in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Jaguars never trailed and extended their Sun Belt winning streak to six-straight games.
 
USA (15-5, 8-1 Sun Belt) jumped out to a 9-0 lead, hitting its first three 3-point field-goal attempts. ULM responded with a 7-2 run and pulled to within 11-7 on a 3-pointer from Whitney Goins. Autio's 3-pointer sparked a 9-2 spurt as the Jaguars moved out to a 20-9 lead on a jumper by Chyna Ellis from the right baseline with 3:27 left in the first quarter. USA hit 50 percent (9-of-18) from the field in the first quarter, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, and led 23-14.
 
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, hitting a combined 7-of-33 shots (21 percent) from the floor. USA outscored ULM, 15-13, in the second period and held a 38-27 halftime advantage.
 
Arsula Clark opened the third quarter with a layup and Tan Walker followed with a jumper from the left baseline as the Warhawks cut their deficit to seven at 38-31. USA answered with a 10-4 run and built a 48-35 lead with 5:59 to play. A 3-pointer from Jones gave the Jaguars' their largest lead at 14, 51-37, with 3:21 remaining in the period. USA matched its biggest lead at the end of three quarters, 55-41.
 
ULM (4-16, 1-8) reeled off 10-straight points to open the fourth quarter and cut its deficit to four at 55-51 on a three-point play from Gabriella Cortez with 5:00 left. USA countered with a 3-pointer from Autio and a three-point play by Antoinette Lewis to push its lead back to double digits at 61-51 with 3:53 on the clock. The Warhawks managed to pull to within six at 61-55 on two free throws from Cortez with 2:56 remaining but couldn't close the gap any further. Cortez scored 10 of ULM's 19 fourth-quarter points.
 
The Jaguars outrebounded ULM, 46-38, and outscored the Warhawks in second-chance points, 18-6.
 
"USA created separation at the end of each half," ULM head basketball coach Jeff Dow. "At the end of both halves, we began settling for tough shots. We went 3-of-18 from 2 (inside the 3-point arc) in the first half. You should shoot at least 40 percent from 2, so that wasn't a good sign at halftime.
 
"We didn't make a 3 in the second half. We worked hard to cut USA's lead down to four but scored only one field goal over the final four minutes. All the other points came from Gabby (Gabriella Cortez) at the free-throw line.
 
"USA came up with four critical offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, and those offensive boards either resulted in second-chance points or allowed them to burn more clock. For the game, we were outscored, 18-6, in second-chance points, so that's the difference in the game. It liked our effort; we didn't give up even when USA built a 14-point lead in the third quarter."
 
Jones came off the USA bench to hit 6-of-7 3-pointers for 18 points while Autio connected on 6-of-9 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-6 3s, and finished with 16 points. Jones and Autio combined to hit 12-of-16 shots from the floor while the rest of the team went just 11-of-53 (21 percent).
 
Cortez scored 16 of her game-high 21 points from the free-throw line while Clark recorded her second-straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Clark scored in double figures for her fifth-straight game and the 13 boards matched her season high.
 
"Gabby struggled from the field but stayed aggressive, got to the free-throw line and still found a way to get 21 points," Dow said.
 
"Arsula Clark had another terrific performance. She has posted back-to-back double-doubles, and that's difficult for a guard to do."
 
ULM has a week off before completing its three-game Sun Belt homestand against the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 12 p.m.
 
"We'll take two days off and recharge the batteries a little," Dow said. "We'll have four practices leading into the ULL game, so we'll have an opportunity to clean things up. ULL is a talented, veteran team. I expect them to be in the running for both the (Sun Belt) regular-season and tournament championships."