Tuesday, December 11
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
6-3
66
vs
47
Alcorn State
1-7
1
2
3
4
F
Alcorn State
8
12
18
9
47
Southern Miss
19
15
12
20
66
Southern Miss WBB Defeats the Lady Braves, 66-47
12/11/2018 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Lady Eagles will face Mississippi State on Friday.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss Lady Eagles defeated Alcorn State on Tuesday night, 66-47, in Reed Green Coliseum. The Lady Eagles return to the court again on Friday to take on #5 Mississippi State.
The Lady Eagles rounded out a double header day with another win in Reed Green Coliseum. The men defeated Millsaps 81-47 and the Lady Eagles followed with a 66-47 win over Alcorn State.
Southern Miss (6-3) started out hot, with Respect Leaphart draining her first 3-pointer for the season to put the first points on the board against the Lady Braves (1-7). Leaphart helped to propel the team throughout the game, but her strength showed in the first half where she finished making two 3-pointers before the first period clock ran out. "A returning star was born in Respect Leaphart in the first half", said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "Some of her confidence was really restored in her tonight." Allie Kennedy stepped up to the plate and had a 3-pointer of her own in the first quarter, and went on to tally another come second quarter.
After the half, Alcorn State returned with what seemed to be a renewed confidence, but Alarie Mayze and the Lady Eagles had plans for them. "They were hitting 3-pointers in our face in the third quarter," said McNelis. "We challenged ourselves in the fourth quarter, and we put Alarie Mayze on No. 24 (De'Asia Brown) because she had hit those 3-pointers in our face in the third quarter and Alarie, I truly believe, she got that momentum running. She didn't allow No. 24 to make touches to make things happen and to hit 3-balls. Because their offense ran through No. 24 in that third quarter, Alarie didn't allow that to get started and it in turn it created opportunities for us to get things going off of rebounds, for Shonte Hailes to get some energy, to hit some shots, and then everything started flowing."
Also in that fourth quarter, all three true freshmen were on the hard wood at the same time. By the end of the game, all three had points to their names, but one in particular stood out for their head coach. "A star was born in Daishai Almond in the fourth quarter," McNelis proudly beamed. "I'm just really proud of her in her performance tonight. Everything was so natural for her. I'm extremely proud of her. And if she will commit to continue to work and commit to studying game film, she has a chance. Our transition game just flowed with her and there wasn't a lot of effort put into it." Almond's performance doesn't jump off the page from a stats standpoint, but she got the momentum flowing, allowing Alarie Mayze to focus on her defensive game and shut down the shots being taken by Alcorn. "Alarie Mayze really put the clamps down defensively in the fourth quarter and made a difference," said McNelis. "Megan Brown hit that three ball right after Alarie's clamps went down and that helped us to get some things going offensively."
When it was all said and done, the Lady Eagles emerged victorious from what had become a closer fight toward the end. The returning star of Leaphart finished out the game having racked up 17 points, a career-high, as well as four rebounds, one block, and two steals. She led the team in points with her 17, Shonte Hailes still shone as the team's leader in assists, tallying five total; she has led in assists every game this season, and it was the 40th time in her career.
Notables
- Led in Points: Respect Leaphart, 17
- Led in Rebounds: Amber Landing & Shonte Hailes, 6
- Led in Assists: Shonte Hailes, 5
- Led in Steals: Alarie Mayze, 3
- Career-high points, 3-pointers for Leaphart
- Career-high points for Daishai Almond (4)
- All 3 true freshmen saw time, all 3 scored
- Three players scored in double-digits (Leaphart, Megan Brown, Allie Kennedy)
Up Next
The Lady Eagles return to their home court in Reed Green on Friday, Dec. 14, to take on the fifth-ranked Bulldogs of Mississippi State at 6pm.
The Lady Eagles rounded out a double header day with another win in Reed Green Coliseum. The men defeated Millsaps 81-47 and the Lady Eagles followed with a 66-47 win over Alcorn State.
Southern Miss (6-3) started out hot, with Respect Leaphart draining her first 3-pointer for the season to put the first points on the board against the Lady Braves (1-7). Leaphart helped to propel the team throughout the game, but her strength showed in the first half where she finished making two 3-pointers before the first period clock ran out. "A returning star was born in Respect Leaphart in the first half", said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "Some of her confidence was really restored in her tonight." Allie Kennedy stepped up to the plate and had a 3-pointer of her own in the first quarter, and went on to tally another come second quarter.
After the half, Alcorn State returned with what seemed to be a renewed confidence, but Alarie Mayze and the Lady Eagles had plans for them. "They were hitting 3-pointers in our face in the third quarter," said McNelis. "We challenged ourselves in the fourth quarter, and we put Alarie Mayze on No. 24 (De'Asia Brown) because she had hit those 3-pointers in our face in the third quarter and Alarie, I truly believe, she got that momentum running. She didn't allow No. 24 to make touches to make things happen and to hit 3-balls. Because their offense ran through No. 24 in that third quarter, Alarie didn't allow that to get started and it in turn it created opportunities for us to get things going off of rebounds, for Shonte Hailes to get some energy, to hit some shots, and then everything started flowing."
Also in that fourth quarter, all three true freshmen were on the hard wood at the same time. By the end of the game, all three had points to their names, but one in particular stood out for their head coach. "A star was born in Daishai Almond in the fourth quarter," McNelis proudly beamed. "I'm just really proud of her in her performance tonight. Everything was so natural for her. I'm extremely proud of her. And if she will commit to continue to work and commit to studying game film, she has a chance. Our transition game just flowed with her and there wasn't a lot of effort put into it." Almond's performance doesn't jump off the page from a stats standpoint, but she got the momentum flowing, allowing Alarie Mayze to focus on her defensive game and shut down the shots being taken by Alcorn. "Alarie Mayze really put the clamps down defensively in the fourth quarter and made a difference," said McNelis. "Megan Brown hit that three ball right after Alarie's clamps went down and that helped us to get some things going offensively."
When it was all said and done, the Lady Eagles emerged victorious from what had become a closer fight toward the end. The returning star of Leaphart finished out the game having racked up 17 points, a career-high, as well as four rebounds, one block, and two steals. She led the team in points with her 17, Shonte Hailes still shone as the team's leader in assists, tallying five total; she has led in assists every game this season, and it was the 40th time in her career.
Notables
- Led in Points: Respect Leaphart, 17
- Led in Rebounds: Amber Landing & Shonte Hailes, 6
- Led in Assists: Shonte Hailes, 5
- Led in Steals: Alarie Mayze, 3
- Career-high points, 3-pointers for Leaphart
- Career-high points for Daishai Almond (4)
- All 3 true freshmen saw time, all 3 scored
- Three players scored in double-digits (Leaphart, Megan Brown, Allie Kennedy)
Up Next
The Lady Eagles return to their home court in Reed Green on Friday, Dec. 14, to take on the fifth-ranked Bulldogs of Mississippi State at 6pm.
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Team Stats
ALCNW
USM
FG%
.354
.464
3FG%
.333
.294
FT%
.563
.750
RB
27
39
TO
21
18
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballGuard/Forward
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