University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Basketball Team Hosts UAB
1/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2010
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 • Hattiesburg, Miss.
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Arena: Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)
Radio: WXHB-FM 96.5
TV: None
Internet: Livestats, Video Streaming
Ranking: None
Southern Miss: Joye Lee-McNelis (Southern Miss, '84)
83-86 at Southern Miss (Sixth season); 312-242 (20th season)
UAB: Audra Smith (Virginia, `92)
72-90 at UAB (Sixth season)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss returns home to host UAB in its home conference opener after playing the first two C-USA games on the road.
The Lady Eagles enter the contest with a 4-11 record overall and 0-2 in league play after a 58-56 loss at Marshall last Sunday on ESPN2. It was the seventh straight loss for the Lady Eagles and nine out of the last 10 games.
Freshman guard Kassietta Brown came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points while Pauline Love added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Candace Rucker also chipped in 13 points.
Love continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She is third in the league in scoring and first in the league in rebounding. She is currently the only player averaging a double-double among the league players. Junior Tanesha Washington is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, contributing 10.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per outing. Rucker is averaging just under 10 points at 9.9 points per game.
As a team, Southern Miss is averaging 61.8 points, while giving up 70.5 points per game. The Lady Eagles are pulling down 38.7 rebounds per game and shooting 40.1 percent from the field, including 33.2 percent from behind the arc. Seven different players have made at least one three-pointer. The Black and Gold is shooting 67.0 percent from the line.
UAB enters Friday's contest with an 8-6 record and 2-0 in conference play. The Blazers are coming off a 63-55 win over Tulsa.
Freshman Jala Harris led UAB with a game-high 22 points off the bench. Senior Tamika Dukes chipped in 13 points and Khalilah Watson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Harris leads UAB with 14.9 points and 3.4 assists per game. Dukes is second on the team with 13.0 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds. Amanda Peterson is contributing 10.6 points per outing. As a team, the Blazers are averaging 61.6 points per game, while allowing 64.9. UAB is hauling in 36.6 rebounds per contest, while giving up 40.1 rebounds. UAB is shooting 37.8 percent from the field, including 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
Head coach Audra Smith is in her sixth season leading the Blazer program. She currently holds a 71-90 (.441) record.
SERIES RECORD -- This is the 47th meeting between the two teams. USM leads the series, 32-14, dating back to the 1978-79 season. The Eagles are 19-3 in Hattiesburg, 13-9 in Birmingham and 0-2 at neutral sites. Southern Miss has won the last seven meetings. This is the third longest running series.
UP NEXT -- Southern Miss plays its second televised when the Lady Eagles host Memphis on Sunday in a 4 p.m., tip on CSS.
