South Alabama women’s basketball lost to Marshall 69-60 at the Mitchell Center on Wednesday. The Jaguars led for nearly 13 minutes but could not hold off the Thundering Herd, who are currently ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.
The game started strong for South Alabama with a 12-4 run powered by Daniela Gonzalez, Tamara Ortiz, and Diawna Carter-Hartley each hitting three-pointers. The Jaguars finished the first quarter ahead 18-12 after holding Marshall to nine percent below their usual field-goal percentage. However, Marshall responded with an 8-3 run to close out the quarter.
In the second quarter, Marshall outscored South Alabama 19-9. Timberlynn Yeast led Marshall’s offense with eight points in that period. Defensively, Marshall limited South Alabama to just three successful shots from 14 attempts and no made three-pointers.
Amyah Sutton provided a highlight for South Alabama in the third quarter by making four of five three-point attempts and scoring 14 points in that period alone. She finished with a career-high seven rebounds, played a personal best of 39 minutes, and matched her highest number of assists with five.
Despite Cordasia Harris shooting efficiently—making eight of eleven field goals—the Jaguars could not overcome Marshall’s offensive surge in the final quarter. The Thundering Herd shot over 53% from the field in those last ten minutes.
Head Coach Yolisha Jackson commented: “We wanted to make sure that we showed up, competed and played with urgency. We did that. But, with that being said, we have got to do a better job of finishing around the rim. That really, really hurt us.”
Other notable statistics included South Alabama’s performance from beyond the arc—eight made three-pointers out of 23 attempts—their best since defeating ULM earlier this month when they shot over 41%. Additionally, since their game against Georgia Southern on January 24th, turnovers have decreased from an average of more than twenty-one per game to fifteen per contest.
Diawna Carter-Hartley also tied her career-high by recording five steals during Wednesday’s match.
Next up for South Alabama is Western Michigan in round two of the MAC-SBC Challenge at University Arena in Kalamazoo on Saturday at noon CST.
For further information about South Alabama women’s basketball visit usajaguars.com or follow @SouthAlabamaWBB on X (formerly Twitter), /SouthAlabamaAthletics on Facebook, or @SouthAlabamaWBB on Instagram.
