University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Basketball Hits the Road to Face Middle Tennessee
1/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Lady Eagle basketball team hits the road for a first-time meeting at Middle Tennessee for a 7 p.m. slate on Thursday.
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.
Southern Miss Preview
The Lady Eagles (9-5, 2-1) are coming off a 71-59 loss to UTEP on Jan. 10. Kierra Jordan and Jerontay Clemons led the way with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while collecting seven rebounds apiece. The Lady Eagles made just 10-of-25 free throws.
Tamara Jones currently leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Clemons adds 10.6 points, Jordan and Brooke Rhodes are next at 8.9 and 8.5 points. Clemons and Jordan also contribute 5.6 and 5.7 rebounds per game each.
The Lady Eagles are averaging 70.6 points on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.9 rebounds per game. Southern Miss is allowing 61.9 points on 37.5 percent shooting from the field while holding a +3.4 turnover margin against its opponents.
A Look at Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee comes into the game with a 9-4 overall record and 3-0 in league play after a 101-69 win at Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Olivia Jones and Cheyene Parker led a quintet of Raiders with 27 and 26 points, respectively, with China Dow adding 14 points and Ty Petty and Brea Edwards chipping in 13 and 10 points. Parker pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds.
Jones leads the Blue Raiders in scoring with 20.8 points per game while Parker is next at 18.0 points per contest. Jones and Parker are averaging 9.3 rebounds per game each.
Head Coach Rick Insell is in his 10th season at Middle Tennessee.
Middle Tennessee is averaging 73.3 points on 42.1 percent shooting from the field and 38.8 rebounds per game. The Raiders are shooting 64.7 percent from the free throw line and have connected on 92-of-295 from behind the arc.
Series Record: Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
This is only the fifth meeting between the two teams and the series is even at 2-2. The first time the two teams met was Dec. 15, 1977 with the Blue Raiders winning in overtime. The Lady Eagles played Middle Tennessee again on Dec. 17, 1979, in Hattiesburg with a win. The teams split last season with the Lady Eagles winning in Hattiesburg while the Blue Raiders claimed the victory in the finals of the Conference USA Championship
Next Up
Following the Middle Tennessee game, Southern Miss travels to UAB on Jan. 17 for 2 p.m. tipoff.
