WBB Set to Face North Texas

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles (8-6, 0-1) face the Mean Green of North Texas (8-5, 1-0) on Saturday afternoon in Reed Green Coliseum at 4pm to close out a three-game homestand and to continue conference play.

Southern Miss will also be raising awareness for lung cancer on Saturday, giving out t-shirts to the first 500 fans to enter Reed Green.

The Lady Eagles dropped a hard-fought loss to Rice on Thursday night, 58-47. Led by redshirt junior Camille Anderson who had 11 points, Southern Miss accomplished all three goals they had set prior to the matchup: keeping team turnovers to 12, limiting Rice's offensive rebounds to less than 10, and holding Erica Ogwumike to six points below her average. The Lady Eagles had a difference maker in its bench players who put up 35 points. The Lady Eagles' energy was where head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis wanted it to be, and the newcomers stepped up and made big plays when USM needed it most. Allie Kennedy had back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter, helping the Lady Eagles put up the most points of any quarter on the night – 20.

The Mean Green come to Hattiesburg with their first Conference USA win under their belt, having defeated LA Tech on Thursday night, 65-54. They are led by Terriell Bradley, a redshirt senior, with 228 points, as well as junior Anisha George who has 92 rebounds, and Trena Mims, a sophomore with 47 assists and 15 steals. The Mean Green are 2-2 when on the road this season, and 8-5 overall. North Texas is currently on a winning streak of four in their schedule. Anisha George also leads the Mean Green in double-doubles for the season with three, and her teammate Madi Townley, a redshirt sophomore, also has one double-double to her name.

The Series
The Lady Eagles lead the series, 4-3, going 3-0 when playing on their home court. This will be the eighth meeting overall. Last time the two played, the Lady Eagles fell to UNT in Denton, 71-62. North Texas is one of the least-played teams by Southern Miss out of all Conference USA members – the Lady Eagles have only played UNT and Old Dominion seven times, and have played Florida Atlantic five times.

"North Texas is a team that is extremely athletic," said McNelis. "They have Terriell Bradley that was a Preseason All-Conference player and is truly a difference maker. She is their force, she is the player that makes things happen for them. They have a tremendous support staff. They are a team that returns a lot of players from last year. We're one of the youngest teams in Conference USA this year. North Texas does a great job, they are going to be aggressive, they play a lot like us, they are going to play fast, they are going to press, they want to play up-tempo. It will be a foot-race come Saturday at 4-o'clock in Reed Green. We've got to be able to match that level of intensity and rise above. We've got to be able to contain Terriell Bradley."

The League
Conference USA play started just yesterday for all teams except UTSA and UTEP. UAB leads the conference in most categories, but Southern Miss makes their mark at the top of the list in both rebounding defense, rebounding margin, and offensive rebound percentage. Kelsey Jones is the leader in field goal percentage, and Shonte Hailes is second in assists, with 58 assists in 12 games, coming out to a 4.8 average per game.

Fly Along
The Lady Eagles game versus North Texas will be broadcasted online via CUSA.tv. Southern Miss fans can also hear the game through the Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, and the legendary Kay James on 92.7 the Score on the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network. Fans can follow along with highlights via the official Twitter account of the Lady Eagles, @SouthernMissWBB. Live stats will be available on SouthernMiss.com. Fans can also have full access to the game on the Southern Miss Gameday App. A full recap of the game along with final stats will be available after the conclusion of the game on SouthernMiss.com.

Up Next
The Lady Eagles will hit the road for the next two games, traveling to Middle Tennessee for a 6:30pm tip on Thursday, Jan. 10, and then to UAB for an afternoon game on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2pm. Southern Miss will return back to Reed Green Coliseum on Jan. 17 to face Charlotte at 6pm.

WBB Set to Face North Texas

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Players Mentioned

Camille Anderson

Shonte Hailes

Kelsey Jones

Allie Kennedy