Southern Miss Host 18th Lady Eagle Classic
11/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2005
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- - Southern Miss hosts its 18th Lady Eagle Classic, Nov. 25-26. Southern Miss opens the tournament against Florida A&M at 6 p.m., followed by Alcorn State and Northwestern State at 8 p.m. The consolation and championship games are set for 6 and 8 p.m., Saturday.
Southern Miss enters the tournament with a 0-2 record after an 84-72 loss at South Alabama on Monday night. A quartet of freshmen led the Lady Eagles in scoring, Ashley Harrell had 19 points followed by Kendra Reed with 13, Amber Eugene added 11 and Ashley Boehnel chipped in 10.
Boehnel and Harrell lead the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 points each. Eugene leads the team in rebounding at 11.0 rebounds.
Florida A&M is 0-2 after a 71-61 loss to UT-San Antonio. Deidra Jones leads the Rattlers in scoring with 13.0 points per game, while Denise Tate leads the team in rebounding at 6.5 rebounds per game.
Alcorn State is 0-1 following an 82-58 loss at Stephen F. Austin. Tanika Nunez leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points, while Natasha Dennis and Latoya Wily are averaging 4.0 rebounds.
Northwestern State enters the tournament with a 1-1 record, following an 84-74 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Shenise Milliner leads the Lady Demons with a double-double, averaging 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
Following the Lady Eagle Classic, Southern Miss travels to Starkville, Miss., to play Mississippi State on Nov. 29.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. All the Lady Eagle basketball games can be heard on WXHB-FM 96.5. Broadcast begins 15 minutes prior to tip off.
Series Records: This is the third meeting between Southern Miss and FAMU. Southern Miss leads the series 2-0. The last time the two teams played was Nov. 29, 1996, in Hattiesburg when the Lady Eagles defeated FAMU, 83-27. Alcorn and Southern Miss have played five times and Alcorn leads the series 3-2. The last time the two teams played was Nov. 26, 1999, with Southern Miss winning, 66-63. Northwestern State and Southern Miss have played 10 times and the Lady Eagles lead the series 6-4. The last time the two teams played was Mar. 5, 1994, when Southern Miss defeated the Lady Demons, 87-72.
Classic History: For the first time in the history of the Lady Eagle Classic, Southern Miss failed to win a game last season. Southern Miss lost to Columbia, 48-41, and then lost to American in the consolation, 66-56. The Lady Eagles won their 14th Classic title with a 64-58 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2003. Southern Miss now owns a 30-6 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
