Friday, December 14
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
6-4
42
vs
86
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Mississippi State
10-0
1
2
3
4
F
Mississippi State
21
21
23
21
86
Southern Miss
16
11
8
7
42
Southern Miss Falls to #5 Mississippi State
12/14/2018 9:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The matchup took place in front of the third-largest crowd at Reed Green.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles fell Friday night to the No. 5-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, 86-42, in front of the second-largest regular season crowd in Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss (6-4) fought against Mississippi State (10-0) but were overcome by the height and depth of the Bulldogs' roster. "Our strategy that we used defensively was as effective as we could ask it to be," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. The Lady Eagles outscored the Bulldogs in bench points, 22-21, but it was Mississippi State's game overall.
The Lady Eagles started out strong, winning the tip and Respect Leaphart putting the first points on the board with a three-pointer. "I told our players, 'if we get off to a good start, then we have a shot'," said McNelis. Southern Miss kept up with the Bulldogs in the first quarter, continually nipping at their heels. The Southern Miss defense didn't let a three-pointer drop for Mississippi State in the first quarter, but had two of their own from Allie Kennedy and aforementioned opening shot by Leaphart. The majority of State's points overall came in the paint, but they also finished shooting 70% from the free throw line, going 21-for-30. "Good teams take the game in the first two quarters, great teams take it in the second half," said McNelis, and the Bulldogs seemed to shut down the Lady Eagles offense in that second half. Southern Miss only scored 15 points in the last two quarters.
Daishai Almond, a true freshman from Athens, Ga., was called up in the second quarter after junior Shonte Hailes became injured after a jump shot. Almond missed her senior year in high school with a blown-out knee, and had played less than three minutes for the Lady Eagles prior to the Alcorn State game where she recorded 15 minutes. Tonight against the Bulldogs, Almond had a career-high in nearly every facet of the game, with 18 minutes, 10 points, three rebounds, two steals, 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. After the Alcorn State game, McNelis said that "a star was born", and she was right. McNelis is quick to remind that there are only three players on the Lady Eagles squad with two or more years of Division I playing experience. This team is young, but Almond shows that they are strong and have talent. Almond scored the last points for the Black and Gold with a steal resulting in a layup with just :25 seconds on the clock.
Notables
Southern Miss (6-4) fought against Mississippi State (10-0) but were overcome by the height and depth of the Bulldogs' roster. "Our strategy that we used defensively was as effective as we could ask it to be," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. The Lady Eagles outscored the Bulldogs in bench points, 22-21, but it was Mississippi State's game overall.
The Lady Eagles started out strong, winning the tip and Respect Leaphart putting the first points on the board with a three-pointer. "I told our players, 'if we get off to a good start, then we have a shot'," said McNelis. Southern Miss kept up with the Bulldogs in the first quarter, continually nipping at their heels. The Southern Miss defense didn't let a three-pointer drop for Mississippi State in the first quarter, but had two of their own from Allie Kennedy and aforementioned opening shot by Leaphart. The majority of State's points overall came in the paint, but they also finished shooting 70% from the free throw line, going 21-for-30. "Good teams take the game in the first two quarters, great teams take it in the second half," said McNelis, and the Bulldogs seemed to shut down the Lady Eagles offense in that second half. Southern Miss only scored 15 points in the last two quarters.
Daishai Almond, a true freshman from Athens, Ga., was called up in the second quarter after junior Shonte Hailes became injured after a jump shot. Almond missed her senior year in high school with a blown-out knee, and had played less than three minutes for the Lady Eagles prior to the Alcorn State game where she recorded 15 minutes. Tonight against the Bulldogs, Almond had a career-high in nearly every facet of the game, with 18 minutes, 10 points, three rebounds, two steals, 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. After the Alcorn State game, McNelis said that "a star was born", and she was right. McNelis is quick to remind that there are only three players on the Lady Eagles squad with two or more years of Division I playing experience. This team is young, but Almond shows that they are strong and have talent. Almond scored the last points for the Black and Gold with a steal resulting in a layup with just :25 seconds on the clock.
Notables
- Led Team Points: Daishai Almond, 10
- Led Team in Rebounds: Megan Brown, 10
- Led Team in Assists: Shonte Hailes, 6
- Shonte Hailes left the game in the second quarter due to injury.
- This was the first game the Lady Eagles wore their gold uniforms, and did so on Go Gold Friday.
- Southern Miss finished at 66.7% from the free throw line (4-for-6).
- The Laurel High School choir and color guard were on hand for the National Anthem.
- The Laurel High School band played for the entire game.
- Attendance: 4,448 - the second-largest crowd for a regular-season game in Reed Green Coliseum.
- This was the second time the Lady Eagles had played the Bulldogs as a top-5 team in RGC and overall.
Team Stats
MS
USM
FG%
.449
.400
3FG%
.231
.222
FT%
.700
.667
RB
43
29
TO
8
27
STL
13
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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