University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Hoops Conclude Homestand With Charlotte
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Lady Eagle basketball team closes out their homestand when they face Charlotte at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
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 legendary coach Kay James as the color analyst.
Southern Miss Preview
The Lady Eagles (18-7, 11-3) are coming off a 70-53 win over Old Dominion on Thursday night, clinching a berth in the 2015 C-USA Tournament in the process. The Lady Eagles had a pair of players record double-doubles and head coach Joye Lee-McNelis recorded her 400th career win. Jerontay Clemons and Kierra Jordan led the way for the Lady Eagles. Clemons finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Jordan added 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Southern Miss finished the first with no turnovers and had a season-low eight for the game.
Tamara Jones leads the team in scoring with 16.2 points while adding 6.4 rebounds per game. She ranks eighth in the Conference USA in scoring and 10th in field goal percentage including ninth in three-point field goal percentage. Clemons is next at 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Kierra Jordan contributes 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. She is seventh in the league in field goal percentage, hitting 50.6 percent from the floor. Brooke Rhodes adds 7.8 points and is third the league in three-point field goal percentage and is fourth in 3-point field goals made in C-USA.
The Lady Eagles are averaging 68.1 points on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 37.7 rebounds per game. Southern Miss ranks second in field percentage and three-point field goal percentage. The Lady Eagles rank first field goal percentage defense. The Lady Eagles have connected on 128-of-365 from behind the arc.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis is in her 11th season at the helm of the Lady Eagle program and her 24th season as a head coach.
A Look at Charlotte
Charlotte enters today's contest with a 10-15 record overall and 6-7 in Conference USA. The 49ers lost at Louisiana Tech Thursday, 71-61. Kira Gordon scored a team-best 16 points while Kenya Olley had 14 and Ciara Gregory added 10 points. Olley pulled down six rebounds.
Lefty Webster is averaging 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds while Gordon and Hillary Sigmon are next at 10.9 and 10.6 points, respectively. Gordon is the top rebounder at 6.6 rebounds per game.
Charlotte is averaging 65.0 points per game while allowing 65.4 points. The 49ers are connecting on 41.8 percent from the floor and 32.2 percent from three, while allowing 42.6 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. Charlotte is pulling down 35.9 rebounds per game and connecting on 71.3 percent from the free throw line.
Series History: Southern Miss vs. Charlotte
This is the 23rd meeting between the two teams dating back to the 1985-86 season ... Southern Miss leads the overall series at 18-4. The first time the two teams met was Nov. 29, 1985 with the Lady Eagles winning that contest ... Southern Miss won the first 17 meetings between the teams, but Charlotte has won the last four of the last five meetings. USM snapped the four-game losing streak last season.
Up Next
Southern Miss will make its final road swing of the season, traveling to UTSA and UTEP to conclude the road portion of its schedule. The Lady Eagles will play UTSA on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m., then close out the Texas swing at UTEP on Sunday, Mar. 1 in a nationally televised game on Fox Sports Network at 3 p.m. central.
Game Day Promotions:
Team Day - all teams that submitted a roster by Thursday, February 19th will receive Free Admission to the game
Children's Center Day - members of the Children's Center will be recognized during Halftime
