Much like their East Volusia rivals, the Stetson Lady Hatters fell victim to a bad second quarter in Thursday night's WBI opener and could never recover.
Trailing South Alabama by just six after the opening period, Stetson failed to score the entire second quarter as the Jaguars took a 29-11 lead into halftime and never looked back, defeating the Hatters, 49-33, to end Stetson's season.
Earlier in the night, the Bethune-Cookman women, playing in the WNIT, trailed Georgia Tech by just seven after the first quarter but were outscored 22-5 over the next 10 minutes.
Stetson finished the season 17-15, including an opening round loss to North Florida two weeks ago in the ASUN tournament. This was the eighth straight postseason appearance for the Hatters, and second trip to the WBI. In 2016, the Hatters defeated McNeese State at home before falling to Louisiana on the road.
Brittney Chambers led Stetson with nine points and a pair of steals, while McKenna Beach added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Both teams traded buckets for much of the opening quarter before the Jaguars opened up a 17-8 lead. Stetson's Kendall Lentz hit a 3 right before the buzzer to pull the Hatters within six, but things unraveled from there, with South Alabama using a 12-0 second quarter run to open up a 29-11 lead.
The Hatters committed six turnovers during their scoreless quarter, and went 0 for 12 from the floor.
Stetson fought back out of the halftime break, outscoring the Jaguars, 13-5, in the third quarter to make it a 10-point game going into the final period. Chambers hit both her 3s during the third-quarter run, while the Jags made just two buckets and committed a flurry of turnovers.
South Alabama rebounded over the final 10 minutes, however, starting the quarter with a 9-1 run and opening up an 18-point lead midway through the period to put the game out of reach.
Shaforia Kines led the Jaguars with 14 points, while Chyna Ellis finished with 11 rebounds and three blocks.