USA women reach goal

By CASSANDRA TAYLOR: South Alabama secured a first-round home game in the Sun Belt Conference women's tournament with a 55-50 win over New Orleans Wednesday night at the Mitchell Center. Shakira Nettles scored a career-high 22 points for the Jags (18-10, 9-8).

"It's a tremendous relief to know that we don't have to make any travel arrangements," South Alabama coach Rick Pietri said. "Now, the only preference I have is to get as high a seed as we can. ... As we sit here today, we're sitting at No. 6 with the potential, with a little help, of moving up to No. 5."

The first-round Sun Belt tournament games will be played on campus sites Wednesday. Afterward, the tournament proper will be staged at the Mitchell Center March 8-11. The Jags jumped to a 21-9 lead, with Nettles scoring 10 of the points. "We knew how big this game was for the opening round of the tournament as well as positioning overall," Nettles said. "Defensively, we had a lot of energy, and as for my game, I just had fun."

Pietri praised Nettles' performance. "Shakira had a great night," he said. "She was the primary defender on (New Orleans' leading scorer) Le'Della English and managed to hold her to only 9 points. "Offensively, she made plays for us and finished plays around the goal."

South Alabama led 34-27 at halftime and built a 12-point lead before the Privateers closed the gap. "I thought at times we looked really good," Pietri said. "For the most part, we were able to turn turnovers into points. We also made some really good reads in the half-court offense."

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