University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Power Past Memphis, 76-56
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss used a solid transition game and five players scored in double figures to pace the Lady Eagles in a 75-56 Conference USA women's basketball victory over Memphis here Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Lady Eagles (13-9 overall, 4-5 C-USA) won for the third time in the last four games and shot over 50 percent for the second-straight time, hitting 30-of-56 shots for 53.6 percent.
Pauline Love, who recorded her 14th double-double of the season, led the Lady Eagles with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
"(Pauline) really come out and gave us a great start in the second half," said Southern Miss coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "She really got her energy going."
Down 37-35 at the break, Love scored six points in a 12-4 run to start the final period and the Lady Eagles outscored the visitors 41-19 over the final 20 minutes.
Kendra Reed also scored 16 points for Southern Miss, while Stephanie Helgeson added 13, Amber Eugene 12 and Liz Biland tallied 10.
The Lady Eagles scored 38 points off of 22 Memphis turnovers and the home squad added 10 fast break points.
"We executed in both the run and set part of our offense tonight, probably the best that we have done all season," Lee-McNelis said, whose team also collected 38 points in the paint.
Memphis (6-16, 3-6) got 22 points from Jessica Hall and Ashley Thornton added 16.
The game began the Lady Eagles' "Think Pink" weekend as the team wore jerseys that featured the color pink in them instead of the school's traditional gold. The color pink was adorned all over the coliseum which included on both coaching staffs, the official table crew, the pep band, fans in the stands and the game officials' shoe laces as well.
The "Think Pink" weekend continues Saturday when the Lady Eagles entertain UAB in a 5 p.m. contest at Green Coliseum. The Lady Eagles' special jerseys will be auctioned off at the conclusion of the UAB game in a live auction with Southern Miss graduate and screen actor, Gary Grubbs, as the auctioneer. The minimum bid on each jersey is $100 and all proceeds will go to the organization `Waiting for a Cure.' Anyone is welcomed to bid on any of the jerseys.
The team also will have pink shooting shirts for the team and head bands, and t-shirts will be given to the band, cheerleaders, dancers and scorers' table crew. Local breast cancer survivors will be special guests of the athletic department. The group will be wearing a special pink t-shirt and have courtside seating.
Admission for these games will be $2, for those wearing pink, with $1 going to the athletic department and the other $1 will go to `Waiting for a Cure.'
