Southern Miss
Jackson State
Southern Miss Downs Jackson State, 89-62
11/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss placed four players in double figures as the Lady Eagles downed Jackson State in the opening game of the La Quinta Inn Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Friday.
Tanesha Washington led the Lady Eagles with 23 points followed by Danielle Johnson with 17, Robin Murphy scored 11 and Pauline Love chipped in 11 to go with a game-high 19 rebounds.
"We saw a lot of bright spots in the game and obviously there are a lot of things we have to continue to work on as well," Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "With team as young as we are, we have to some giant steps between now and tomorrow to be able to compete with either team (Georgia or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)."
"The bright spot was Tanesha Washington and how well she played," McNelis said. "Her energy really ignited her first half play. The play of Danielle Johnson and her scoring continues to be on go. I thought the two of them as a unit made some strides over the last game. The steady play of Pauline Love was a sure plus for us as well."
Southern Miss popped out to a 5-2 lead in the first two minutes before JSU battled back to tie the game at 6-6. The Eagles then answered with four straight points before JSU tied the game again on back-to-back baskets by Hester. From there, Southern Miss reeled off the next seven points to take a 17-10 lead. Jackson State cut the lead to five on a basket by Hester, but USM then used a 9-1 run to take its first double digit lead of the game at 24-13. Southern Miss maintained the double digit lead for the remainder of the half, but JSU made a run late to cut the lead to 10 points at intermission, 37-27.
"You have to give Jackson State credit because they came in and dominated the glass in the first half," said McNelis. "We were able to make a run defensively in the second half to try and keep them off the glass. "
The Lady Eagles opened a 20-point lead, 53-33, in the first six minutes of half. The Lady Tigers got within 16 points with 12:55 remaining, but that was as close as JSU would get. Southern Miss outscored Jackson State, 52-35, in the second half on 22-of-35 for 62.9 percent.
JSU's Daria Hester led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, Rachel Jones and Phenicia Taylor scored 14 points apiece for the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Eagles finished the game shooting 53.6 percent for the game.
No. 14/19 Georgia remainded unbeaten as the Bulldogs defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Chriti, 77-58, in the second game of the night. Jasmine James led four Lady Dogs in scoring with 18 points, followed by Ashley Houts with 16, Porsha Phillips and Anne Marie Armstrong added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Phillps also grabbed 15 rebounds.
Adrienne Scott led AMCC with 16 points with Jade Davis and Deziree Green chipping in 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Southern Miss will play No. 14/19 Georgia the championship game scheduled for a 4:15 p.m., tip. Jackson State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will face off at 2 p.m., in the consolation game.
