University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Grambling State
Women's Basketball Team Shoots Past Grambling State, 87-64
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- - Led by a strong performance by sophomore guard Amber Eugene, the Southern Miss Lady Eagles cruised to an 87-64 victory over Grambling State in the first round of the La Quinta Inn Lady Eagle Classic presented by WXXV Fox 25, Friday, at Reed Green Coliseum.
Eugene led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds, as the Lady Eagles improved to 2-3 with the win. The Lady Tigers fell to 0-4 on the season.
Three other Lady Eagle players scored in double digits, with sophomore Kendra Reed and Emer Foley each adding 18 points. Freshman Lauren Pittman chipped in with 10. Kristin Chaney handed out a season-high 10 assists.
GSU's Lacey Cromier' came off the bench to score 16 points and hauled in seven rebounds, both team highs. She also had six blocks. Tenisha Shaw scored 11 points with Kourtney Sherman and CaSaundra Anderson chipping in 10 points apiece.
"It was a very balanced attack and I think that was the key tonight," Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "We had a lot of different players that were able to contribute and do so in an effective way.
"We had a big game out of Eugene," McNelis said. "Emer continues to play well for us and freshman Lauren Pittman showed some promise today. Again, everybody stepped up and that made the difference."
Southern Miss jumped out to a 9-4 lead before Grambling rallied back to tie the game, 9-9. From there, the Golden Eagles used an 11-2 run, pushing their lead to nine points, 20-11.
GSU then put together a run of its own, tying the game at 24-24 following a 13-4 run. Southern Miss regained the lead on a jumper by Foley and never trailed again as the Golden Eagles
Foley and Eugene combined for 28 first half points. The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 59.4 percent (19-of-32).
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with a three-pointer by Reed and from there continued build on the lead, leading by as many as 22 points, 56-34, at 16:24 mark.
GSU struggled in the second half, shooting 37.0 percent from the field (10-of-27).
Southern Miss had a season low 16 turnovers, while Grambling had 19 turnovers. The Golden Eagles scored 32 points off the GSU miscues. Southern Miss won the battle of the boards, 44-34. Southern Miss finished the game shooting 52.2 percent.
"The only thing that was disappointing about this game is the number of offensive rebounds we gave up," said McNelis. "They (GSU) had almost as many offensive rebounds as they did defensive rebounds."
Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m., playing in the championship game against Eastern Kentucky, who defeated Louisiana Tech, 86-84. Grambling will play Louisiana Tech in the consolation game beginning at 12 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky-Louisiana Tech Boxscore
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