DENTON, Texas (1/20/10) - The Mean Green women's basketball team earned their biggest win of the season and the 400th victory in school history by knocking off the East Division-leading South Alabama Jaguars 78-66 Wednesday evening at The Super Pit.
Freshman forward Jasmine Godbolt had a monster game for the Mean Green by scoring a career-high 19 points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds. With her sixth double-double of the season, Godbolt surpassed Fred Deckard's previous single-season record of five by a freshman.
Joining Godbolt in double-figures for the Mean Green was Brittney James (20 points) and Tamara Torru (15 points). As a team North Texas shot 50 percent from three-point territory (7-of-14) and outshot the Jaguars from the field (43 percent-32 percent).
Perhaps the biggest story of the evening was the defensive job North Texas did against South Alabama on the perimeter. The Jaguars came into Wednesday tied in the Sun Belt with Middle Tennessee with a conference-leading 128 made three-pointers. On this night the Mean Green took the long ball away, limiting USA to only 7-of-34 from beyond the arch.
North Texas (6-14, 3-6) took control of the game from the eight-minute mark on when they closed the contest on a 23-11 run. James would seal the deal with 1:39 remaining on a three-pointer from the left wing to push the Mean Green lead to 74-63.
In the opening minutes of the second half the Mean Green saw their lead slip away for the first time all evening when the Jaguars Shakira Nettles knocked down one of her four three-pointers of the game. Nettles would finish with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 points.
South Alabama (12-7, 7-1) struggled mightily in the first half shooting the ball from the field as North Texas held them to only 28 percent shooting. The Mean Green took advantage by jumping out to a 15-4 lead, the biggest of the evening.
North Texas was led in the first 20 minutes by Godbolt, who scored nine first half points and pulled down six rebounds. As a team North Texas shot only 30 percent from the field in the first half and 8-of-15 at the free throw line.
The Mean Green's struggles allowed the Jaguars to creep back in the game and a Nettles three-pointer closed the gap to 31-28 as both teams entered the locker room at halftime.
North Texas will next be in action on Wednesday, Jan. 27 when they travel to Western Kentucky. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
