University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball To Host Nationally Ranked Mississippi State
12/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss women's basketball team plays will host in-state rival and No. 22/22 ranked Mississippi State in a televised game on American Sports Network, Sunday Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.
The Lady Eagle contest can be heard on WHXB-FM 96.5 or at www.SouthernMiss.com with Josh West, voice of the Lady Eagles, providing the play-by-play action with former coach legendary coach Kay James as color analyst.
Southern Miss Preview
The Lady Eagles enters the contest with a 6-2 record after a 78-62 loss at Florida Gulf Coast. Tamara Jones and Jerontay Clemons combined for 49 points with Jones netting 29 and Clemons 20. Clemons also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
Jones currently leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game while Clemons adds 12.3 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Kierra Jordan is next at 10.0 points. Jones contributes 6.4 rebounds per game while Alex Coyne is handing out 3.5 assists per game.
The Lady Eagles are averaging 72.5 points on 48.0 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 rebounds per game. Southern Miss is connecting on 63.2 percent from the line. Southern Miss is giving up 57.6 points on 35.3 percent shooting from the field while holding a +5.3 turnover margin against its opponents.
A Look at Mississippi State
Mississippi State is 9-0 after an 81-77 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Dec. 11. Victoria Vivians led the way with 20 points while had Ketara Chapel 13 points. Chinwe Okorie added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds and Morgan William chipped in 10 points. MS connected on 33-of-46 from the line.
Vivians leads Bulldogs in scoring with a 17.9 per game average with Williams next at 13.1 points and Chapel adding 10.4 points per game. Okorie leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 rebounds per game.
Head Coach Vic Schaefer is in his third season and returns eight letterwinners including all five starters from last season's team that finished 22-14 while advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
The Bulldogs are averaging 89.3 points on 42.2 percent shooting from the field and 47.2 rebounds per game. Mississippi State owns a +11.9 rebound margin and +8.8 turnover margin over opponents. State is shooting 73.5 percent from the free throw line.
Series Record: Southern Miss vs. Mississippi State
This is the 42nd meeting between the two teams dating back to the 1975-76 season ... Southern Miss leads the overall series 22-19 ... Southern Miss snapped a four-game losing streak in 2012 ... Mississippi State won both meetings between the two schools last season in Starkville including a double overtime victory in the second round of the WNIT.
Next Up
Following the Mississippi State game, Southern Miss travels to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss for the first time since 1999.
Promotions
First 250 fans wearing BLACK and GOLD will receive free hot dogs
First 100 fans will receive a free rally towel
