Lady Eagles Host Annual Lady Eagle Classic

Lady Eagles Host Annual Lady Eagle Classic

Liz Biland

Kimberly Rigg

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss will host its Annual Lady Eagle Classic sponsored by Fairfield Inn on Dec. 3-4.  Teams included in the tournament are Columbia, American University and Austin Peay.  Southern Miss opens the tournament on Friday against Columbia at 5:30 p.m., followed by American and Austin Peay at 7:30.  The consolation and championship games are set for Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., respectively.

Southern Miss (2-1) is coming off its first road win with a 59-54 victory at UCF.  Freshman Shannon Stueber led the Lady Eagles in scoring with a game-high 24 points.  Liz Biland chipped in 17 points.  After shooting 32.1 percent in the first half, the Lady Eagles responded by shooting 42.2 percent in the second half.  Southern Miss also out rebounded UCF, 40-36.

Stueber leads the team in scoring, averaging 20.0 points, while Kimberly Rigg leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per game.  The Lady Eagles are averagine 57.7 points and 37.0 rebounds.  Southern Miss is shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the free throw line.  The team has connected on 12-of-29 three-pointers.  The Lady Eagles have a rebounding margin of +5.3.

Columbia has a record of 2-3, following a 61-54 loss at Monmouth on Tuesday.  American comes in with a 4-1 record and Austin Peay is 1-3. 

Following the Classic, Southern Miss travels to Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 7.  Game time is set of 7 p.m.

 

SOUTHERN MISS PROBABLE STARTERS               HT     CL       PPG     RPG

11          F       Deondra Carter                                              5-11      So.         5.7       2.7

54         F       Liz Biland                                                        6-2      Fr.         12.7       6.3

32         C       Kimberly Rigg                                                  6-2      So.         8.7       7.3

4           G      Kelsey Gurganus                                             5-10      Fr.         2.7       2.3

20         G      Shannon Stueber                                            5-10      Fr.        20.0      4.0

Last Court Appearance

  4 Southern Miss fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to take a 59-54 victory over UCF on Nov. 26.  Freshmen Shannon Stueber and Liz Biland led the Lady Eagles with 24 and 17 points, respectively.  Southern Miss used a 17-2 run over 7:41 to take a 51-49 lead.  Stueber scored nine of the 17 points during the run. 

Scouting Columbia

  4 Columbia is 2-3 after a 61-54 loss at Monmouth on Tuesday.  Traci Waites is in her first season at Columbia.  The Lions have two players averaging in double-figures, Susan Kern at 13.6 and Adia Revell at 11.0 points per game.  Revell also leads the team in rebounding at 10.0 rebounds per game.  As a team, Columbia is averaging 59.0 points and 36.6 rebounds per game.  They are shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 71.2 percent from the line.  The Lions have connected on 21-of-65 three-pointers.

COLUMBIA PROBABLE STARTERS                        HT     CL       PPG     RPG

22         F       Adia Revell                                                      5-11      Sr.         11.0      10.0

33         F       Nicole Lesko                                                  5-10     Sr.         4.2       3.6

42         C       Erin Jaschik                                                    6-1      Sr.         9.2       5.0

12          G      Megan Griffith                                               5-6      So.         9.4        1.4

15          G      Susan Kern............................................................................... 5-11      Sr.         13.6       2.2

Scouting American

  4 American University is 4-1 following a 48-46 win over UNC Asheville on Nov. 28.  Melissa McFerrin is in her first season at American.  The Eagles have three players averaging double-figures, Joanna Barnes at 15.4, Tala Hadavi and Chanel Hunt are averaging 11 points a piece.  Barnes also leads the team in rebounding at 7.6 rebounds per game.  As a team, American is averaging 64.0 points and 36.8 rebounds per game.  They are shooting 44.9 percent from the field.  The Eagles have connected on 21-of-45 three-pointers and averaging 10.4 steals per game.

AMERICAN PROBABLE STARTERS (HT, CL, PPG, RPG)

35    F    Chanel Hunt (6-0, Sr., 11.0, 5.6)

44    F    Jenyce Woodruff (5-9, Sr., 5.8, 7.4)

25    C    Kim Salem (6-1, Sr., 9.8, 4.4)

20    G    Joanna Barnes (5-10, Sr., 15.4, 7.6)

23    G    Tala Hadavi (5-10, Jr., 11.0, 2.4)

Scouting Austin Peay

  4 Austin Peay comes into the Classic with a 1-3 record, following a 76-65 loss at Saint Louis on Nov. 27.  Andy Blackston is in his third season at Austin Peay.  The Lady Govs have two players averaging in double-figures, Ashley Haynes and Robin Leslie averaging 12.8 points and 10.3 points, respectively.  As a team, Austin Peay is averaging 61.5 points and 36.0 rebounds per game.  They are shooting 40.1 percent from the field.  Austin Peay has connected on 27-of-91 three-pointers.  Haynes also leads the team rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per game.

AUSTIN PEAY PROBABLE STARTERS (HT, CL, PPG, RPG)

15     F    Carden Cobb (5-10, Jr., 9.5, 5.5)

45    C    Robin Leslie (6-2, Fr., 10.3, 5.3)

2      G    Cassandra Peek (5-5, Sr.,5.8, 2.5)

12     G    Kera Bergeron (5-9, Jr., 9.8, 2.0)

44    G    Ashley Haynes (5-10, Jr., 12.8, 7.5)

About The Series

  4 This is the first meeting between Columbia.  This is the second meeting between American and Southern Miss.  American leads the series 1-0, after an 82-80 win over Southern Miss in the Carrier Classic, Dec. 12, 1997.  This is the third meeting between Southern Miss and Austin Peay.  Southern Miss leads 2-0, after a 99-75 win in 1993, in the Lady Eagle Classic.

Next Opponent

  4 Following the Lady Eagle Classic, Southern Miss travels to Monroe, La., to play Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 7.

On These Dates

  4 Southern Miss has played nine two times on Dec. 3 and owns a 5-4 record and played eight times on Dec. 4 and has a 3-5 record.  The last time Southern Miss played on Dec. 4, was in 2002-03, when the Lady Eagles defeated Samford, 68-60, in Hattiesburg.  The last time Southern Miss played on Dec. 4, was in 2001-02 when the Lady Eagles defeated UL-Monroe, 56-38, in Hattiesburg.

The Classic History

  4 The Lady Eagles won their 14th Classic title with a 64-58 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last season.  Southern Miss owns a 30-2 overall record in the Classic.  The first Classic was played Dec. 10-11, 1982.  The Lady Eagles defeated Mercer University, 101-90, in the first Classic final.  The Classic was not played again until 1988, when Southern Miss defeated Alabama, 84-79, in overtime.  After a two-year absence, the Classic resumed in 1991. The Golden Eagles faced Mississippi State in the finals, winning 89-74.  Southern Miss has lost only two championship games.  In 1995, nationally-ranked Ole Miss defeated the Eagles in overtime, and in 1998, the Eagles lost to Florida International.  In 1999, Southern Miss defeated UT-Martin, 81-65, in the championship game, followed by a 61-48 win over Appalachian State in 2001.  In 2002, the Lady Eagles defeated Birmingham Southern 76-42.

Freshman Impact

  4 Southern Miss has definitely relied on its freshmen to provide scoring and rebounding punch for the Lady Eagles.  Three freshmen have started each game.  Shannon Stueber has led the team in scoring all three games and is currently averaging 20.0 points per game.  Liz Biland scored a season-high 19 points against UALR (11/23).  All seven freshmen have played, and all but one has scored at least two points.

From The Line

  4 The Lady Eagles are shooting an impressive 75.5 percent from the free throw line.  Five players are shooting at least 75 percent from the charity stripe.

On The Verge

  4 The Southern Miss Lady Eagle basketball program looks to earn its 500th victory in the school's program.  Heading into the 2004-05 season, the Lady Eagles needed eight victories to reach that milestone.  Southern Miss won its 493rd game in a 79-65 win over Arkansas-Little Rock and its 494th game against UCF, 59-54.

Lady Eagles Host Annual Lady Eagle Classic

Related Videos