University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
USF Upends Southern Miss 70-38
2/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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USF Upends Southern Miss 70-38
Deondra Carter was the only Lady Eagle to score in doube figures with10 points |
TAMPA, Fla. ? Southern Miss scored its lowest point total of the season, losing to USF 70-38 in women?s basketball action Friday night in The Corral. Southern Miss lost for the sixth-straight time, dropped to 14-11 overall and 2-10 in league play, while USF improved to 12-13 and 5-7, clinched a spot in the Conference USA Tournament in the process.
"I thought we played a good zone defense in the first half and that kept us in the game," Head Coach Rick Reeves said. "In the second half, we let South Florida get out on the fast break. We didn?t have good guard play tonight which hurt us again. We continue turn the ball over too much. USF maybe one of the top five teams in the league right now."
USF jumped out quickly to a 7-3 lead, taking advantage of early turnovers by Southern Miss. The Bulls eventually pushed its lead to 15 points, 23-8, by the 8:32 mark in the half. Southern Miss, then, regrouped and outscored the Bulls, 14-3, over a 6:52 span, cutting the lead to four, 26-22, with 1:40 remaining before the half. USF scored 15 points off 14 Lady Eagle turnovers. USF led 28-22 at the intermission.
USF opened the second half on a 13-2 run over 4:46 and never looked back. Southern Miss committed five turnovers and connected on 1-of-3 from the field during that USF run. USF turned up its defensive pressure and controlled the boards in building its lead to 27 points, 57-30, by the 9:28 mark. The Lady Eagles continued to struggle from the field, shooting a dismal 20 percent from the field on 4-of-20 shooting in the second half, while USF shot 52.9 percent.
Deondra Carter was the only Lady Eagle to score in double figures with 10 points. USF?s freshmen Jessica Dixon led all scorers with 22 points and Anedra Gilmore had 12 points. Ezria Parsons pulled down 13 rebounds, 11 in the first half. Denise Wilson led Southern Miss with nine rebounds while scoring nine points.
Southern Miss returns to action on Sunday at UAB in a 2 p.m. tip.
