University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Defense Leads To Victory
11/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Lady Eagle Defense Leads To Victory
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss Lady Eagle defense held McNeese State without a field goal over 9:49 of the second half, on their way to a 68-42 victory Saturday night in Reed Green Coliseum. With the win, Southern Miss improved to 3-0 on the season while McNeese State dropped to 1-2.
Freshmen Michelle Poindexter and Deondra Carter led Southern Miss with 14 and 12 points respectively. Poindexter also pulled down 10 rebounds, recording her second double-double of the season. Shamika Stewart led McNeese State with 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
"I thought our players played well, and it was a great basketball game," Head Coach Rick Reeves said. "The nature of our game has been our defense to start the season. We've played good defense and we pride ourselves in that. We are not the greatest shooting team, but I am really pleased with the players' efforts."
The Lady Eagles never trailed in this game, opening up a quick 4-0 lead. Southern Miss pushed its lead to 11 points, 13-2, five minutes into the game. McNeese cut the lead to seven, 13-6, by the 14:10 mark before both teams went the next four minutes scoreless. However, the Cowgirls used a 7-5 run, cutting the lead to five, 18-13, with eight minutes before the half. Southern Miss ended the half with a 12-7 run, taking a 30-20 lead into the locker room.
Southern Miss opened the second half with an aggressive style of defense and held the Cowgirls scoreless for the first nine minutes. Southern Miss scored 10 unanswered points over that span. McNeese shot 20.6 percent in the second half, while Southern Miss connected on 50 percent from the field. The Lady Eagles held the rebounding edge, 45-42. Both teams combined for 59 free throw opportunities and 49 fouls.
The Lady Eagles continued their seven-game homestand, hosting Gardner Webb, Dec. 1, in a 7 p.m. tip.
