WBB Defeats Northwestern State 69-54

Tuesday, November 27

Reed Green Coliseum

6 p.m.

Southern Miss

5-2

Northwestern State

3-3

Northwestern State

Southern Miss

WBB Defeats Northwestern State 69-54

11/27/2018 9:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery Box Score (PDF)

The Lady Eagles are now 5-2 on the season.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Demons of Northwestern State 69-54 on Tuesday night in Reed Green Coliseum.

The Southern Miss Lady Eagles (5-2) had a momentous game for many players against the Lady Demons (3-3), with senior Megan Brown hitting the 800-point mark for her career before the game even tipped thanks to two free throws from a technical called on Northwestern State. Shonte Hailes tied her career high of four 3-pointers made in a game, and had 20 points on the night. Kennedy Gavin tied her career-high points with nine, Shania Edgecombe did the same with her three points, and Destiny Smith also joined the party tying her career-high four points.

The Lady Eagles played the game like they always do; hard and fast. They kept up the pressure against the Lady Demons, collecting 11 rebounds in the first quarter alone. Southern Miss came away with 33 total rebounds to Northwestern State's 24. The team recorded eight steals, with four coming from Hailes, three from Alarie Mayze and one from redshirt freshman Kelsey Jones. Several freshmen were put in early against Northwestern State, Shania Edgecombe making a name for herself as she snagged two offensive boards and tied her career-high three points. The Lady Eagles led for the majority of the game, never trailing and only being tied once at 35 points. Southern Miss' largest lead came in the fourth quarter where they led by as much as 15 points with four minutes left to play. Hailes' 3-pointers came at crucial moments for the Lady Eagles, extending the lead when the Lady Demons were nipping at their heels when it came to points.

Quotables – Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
"I told the girls yesterday you have to play with intestinal fortitude, and Megan Brown said, "Coach, I've never quite heard it that way," and I told her it's guts. That's what matters - you've got to lay your guts on the line, it has to be a burning desire."

"We have really struggled with our energy this year and we did tonight for a consistent period in the third quarter but we regained that energy in the fourth quarter. Some of our younger players really stepped up, gave us the punch that we needed and really made a difference for us. The play of Shonte Hailes and Alarie Mayze was a difference maker for us, our veteran players, so I was really proud of the way we responded."

Notables
- Shonte Hailes and NWS' Kira Bonner are from Quitman, Miss. and graduated from Quitman HS. Their head coach in high school was also Assistant Coach Lauren Pittman's head coach at Petal HS.
- Megan Brown hit 800 career-points before the clock even started.
- Edgecombe, Smith, Gavin and Landing all tied their career-high points.
- Hailes' 20 points is the highest of any Southern Miss player this season up to this point.
- Brown has been perfect from the charity stripe for five straight games, and for six out of the total seven games played this season.
- All three true freshmen saw playing time, and two out of the three put points on the board.

Up Next
The Lady Eagles hit the road for their second away game of the season at Tulane. The two will face off in the second annual Battle for I-59 in New Orleans on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1pm.