Getting to Know ... Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- It's just two days remaining in the countdown for the season opener against Alabama State on Friday at 11 a.m.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis has spent roughly 20 years with the Southern Miss family either as a player or coach in some form or fashion and she will be featured in the countdown.
During McNelis' time at Southern Miss, she has enjoyed success at every level as a player, assistant coach and now head coach.
Now entering her 12th season as head coach and her 20th with the Southern Miss program, she has been associated with the Lady Eagles' program for 50 percent of the last 40 years. Her combined record associated during that time is 354 wins.
First as a standout player, McNelis still ranks among the top all-time scorers. Her name continues to appear throughout the record section in several categories.
As an assistant, McNelis coached some of the more successful teams in the school history. Three of the five seasons, the Lady Eagles played in the NCAA Tournament, posted a pair of Metro Conference Tournament championships and a regular season Metro Conference championship. Those teams recorded 103 wins and just 47 losses.
Returning as head coach of her alma mater, McNelis' presence has formed a complete, well-rounded women's basketball program that is putting Southern Miss back on the map. In the past two seasons, McNelis' teams have played in back-to-back postseason tournaments (WNIT) and is make their first Preseason WNIT appearance this season.
The Lady Eagles finished the 2014-15 season with a 25-11 record, posting back-to-back 20 wins seasons for the first time since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. It's also the first time a team has posted 25 or more wins in back-to-back seasons since 1988-89 (26-5) and 1989-90 (27-5). This was also the farthest a Lady Eagle team has advanced in postseason play, advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. For her efforts in 2013-14, McNelis was voted Conference USA Coach of the Year.