University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Basketball Team Begins Four-Game Home Stand
1/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - - The Southern Miss women's basketball team begins a four-game Conference USA home stand this weekend. The Lady Eagles host UTEP on Friday at 7 p.m., and Tulane at 2 p.m., on Sunday.
The first 500 fans will get a Lady Eagle basketball team autograph card on Friday. On Sunday, the fans will receive Player Trading Cards of Amber Eugene and Kelsey Gurganus.
The game can be heard on WXHB-FM 96.5 with Jason Baker as the "Voice of the Lady Eagles" with legendary coach Kay James as color analyst. Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
Southern Miss is 4-10 and 1-2 in league play, following a 92-58 loss at Houston last Sunday. In that game, Kendra Reed and Ashley Harrell scored 15 points each in the loss. Harrell also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Reed continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points followed by Ashley Boehnel, who is averaging 13.4 points and Harrell at 12.7 points. Amber Eugene and Liz Biland lead the team in rebounding at 6.1 rebounds per game. Southern Miss is averaging 65.1 points and 35.1 rebounds as a team, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 75.0 from the line.
UTEP, under the direction of Keitha Green, is in her fifth season at UTEP and her record is 51-79. Green returns nine letterwinners, including three starters from last season that finished with a 12-17 record. UTEP enters the game with a 10-5 record, following an 80-69 win over SMU last Sunday. The Miners are riding a six-game winning streak. Four Miners scored in double-figures in that win, led by Kasia Krezel with 20 points, followed by Izabela Piekarska with 18, Ana Altierra with 17 and Whitney Thornton added 12.
Krezel leads the team in scoring with a 15.9 point average, followed by Piekarska at 13.9. Piekarska leads the team in rebounding at 7.2 boards per game.
The Miners are outscoring their opponents 72.5 to 59.9 on the season and 78.1 to 56.5 in their 10 wins (21.6). The team is averaging 40.0 rebounds. UTEP has shot 60 percent in the second half of three of its last four games and averaged 48.5 points in all four.
This is only the second meeting between the two teams. Southern Miss leads the series 1-0. The last time the two played was Dec. 21, 1993, in the finals of the Lady Eagle Classic in Hattiesburg.
Following the UTEP game, Southern Miss remains at home and hosts Tulane at 2 p.m., Sunday.
