MOBILE, Ala. ------ Eight different players scored, led by junior Nadia Stewart's team-high 10 points, but the Auburn Montgomery women's basketball team dropped a 71-44 decision to South Alabama in an exhibition contest Thursday evening at the Mitchell Center.

NOTES
• As an exhibition contest, the result and statistics do not count toward either teams season totals.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Stewart led the Warhawks with 10 points, hitting all four of her shots from the floor, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc. She also added three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal.
• Shanna Strain finished with eight points and matched a team-high with six rebounds.
• Kaylan Withrow contributed seven points, three rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal.
• Ashton Sutton chipped in six points and six rebounds.
• Chyna Ellis led four Jaguars in double figures with 16 points, while adding 11 rebounds.
• Marquita Daniels, LaNeetra Guillory and Erin Autio also scored in double figures.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Behind five points from Stewart, the Warhawks raced out to a 7-2 lead in the opening 1:33 of the first quarter. However, the Jaguars closed the half with a 12-5 run and led 14-12 after one quarter.
• AUM rallied in the second quarter and tied the score at 18-18 on a Withrow 3-pointer with 6:56 remaining before the half, but USA scored the final 13 points of the half and held a 31-18 advantage at the intermission.
• The Warhawks kept the margin within 13 points on a pair of occasions, including at the 8:02 mark of the third quarter, when Tyra Caudle scored to make the score 37-24.
• South Alabama used a 19-7 run to end the third quarter and put the contest out of reach.
• The Jaguars led by a game-high margin of 66-31 with 4:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Warhawks closed the contest with a 13-5 spurt to provide the final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks finished 17-of-68 from the floor, including 8-of-37 from behind the arc.
• South Alabama converted 28-of-73 shots from the field, but were just 4-of-20 from distance.
• AUM committed 21 turnovers, which led to 26 points. The Jaguars committed 13 turnovers, leading to six points.
• The Warhawks were outrebounded 53-45, but had 14 second-chance points thanks to 21 offensive rebounds.
• AUM converted both of its free throws, while USA finished 11-of-16 from the charity stripe.

QUOTING THE COACH
"I thought we played with great effort, but at times didn't keep up our intensity," head coach Dan Davis said. "South Alabama really did a good job of controlling the paint and utilized their size. I thought they upped their physicality in the last two quarters that really hurt us. But, I think we did a great job on the glass considering how much bigger they were. Nadia Stewart played a very sound game running the point, which is huge for us after losing Tori (Carter) from last year. I thought we had a good showing and did some things well, but still have some areas to work on. I'm looking forward to getting the regular season started."

UP NEXT
The Warhawks will open their regular season on Friday, Nov. 11, when they travel to Palm Beach, Fla., to take on Lynn University in the opening game of the PBA Tip-off Classic, hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m.