MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama women's basketball hit eight first-half three-pointers to build a 51-24 halftime lead, going on to notch a 79-52 Sun Belt Conference victory over visiting Georgia Southern on New Year's Eve, Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center in Mobile.

The Jaguars (9-4, 2-0 SBC) picked up their fourth win out of their last five contests, while Georgia Southern (3-10, 0-2 SBC) dropped its seventh straight contest. The Eagles will return to action in the new year, hosting Arkansas State at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 4th, at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The two teams traded three-pointers to open up the contest, with Nakol Franks knocking down her team-leading 21st of the season, but South Alabama embarked on an 18-0 run over a four and a half minute stretch to take a 21-3 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

Hailey Dias-Allen scored eight of her career-high 12 points in the first quarter as the Eagles closed the gap to 32-15 at the end of the first quarter. Each team scored just five points in the first five minutes of the second quarter, but South Alabama ended the half on a 14-4 run to take a 51-24 lead at the break. The Eagles and the Jaguars matched each other with 28 second-half points as USA held on for the victory.

"They hit their first four threes in the first two minutes, that dug us a hole," Head Coach Kip Drown said. "We were down 12-3 after four shots, and our body language after the first four shots was bad. I will say this, I thought the second half we competed hard. We put 0-0 on the scoreboard at half and told them, 'let's win the second half' and we ended up tied."

Dias-Allen was the only Eagle player to notch double figures with her 12 points, while Nakol Franks had nine points on 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line. 

South Alabama was led by Chyna Ellis' 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. Savannah Jones added 13 points off the bench and Antoinette Lewis also chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Georgia Southern shot 25.8 percent from the floor (17-of-66) and 33 percent from three-point range (4-of-12) but took advantage at the foul line by hitting 14-of-20 free throws, compared to South Alabama's 4-of-4 from the stripe. The Jaguars finished the contest hitting 47.1 percent from the floor (32-of-68) and 44 percent from three-point range (11-of-25). Georgia Southern tied a season-low with only 11 turnovers, while notching 10 steals as South Alabama committed 15 turnovers. The Jaguars did have nine blocks on the day.

"We're really doing some things offensively well," Coach Drown said. "We missed 10 layups, which means we are getting the ball into really good places. We just need to finish. I'm pleased with our ball movement, we only had 11 turnovers. I'm also pleased with our shot selection. But e've got to get on the glass better and start making shots."