Saturday, November 30
Reed Green Coliseum
4 p.m.
Southern Miss
6-1
51
vs
39
VCU
3-4
1
2
3
4
F
VCU
12
13
12
2
39
Southern Miss
4
16
16
15
51
WBB Finishes Out Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic with Two Wins
11/30/2019 9:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Shonte Hailes was named to the All-Classic Team and Daishai Almond as MVP.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball closed out the 32nd annual Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic with its second win on Saturday evening, defeating VCU 51-39.
The Lady Eagles finished the Thanksgiving Classic as the victor and improves to 6-1 on the season. Southern Miss is on a five-game winning streak after defeating VCU (3-4).
Southern Miss was led by Shonte Hailes, Daishai Almond, and Kelsey Jones, who all scored in double-digits. Kelsey Jones was a force in the paint going 4-for-7 and going 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Almond was a dominate player, finishing with eight rebounds and two blocks, as well as one steal. Senior Hailes continued her ways, leading the team with 15 points and scoring the teams' only 3-pointer.
A low scoring game overall, the Lady Eagles' 'Fiesty Bunch' defense was in a battle with the Rams. A slow start for Southern Miss in the first quarter led to USM being outscored 12-4, but found their stride in time and came back in the second outscoring VCU 16-13. Shots did not seem to want to fall for the Lady Eagles for a time, but managed to find 16 points in the third. The defense went to work in the fourth quarter to hold their lead, keeping the Rams to just two points in the final quarter. Of the Lady Eagles' 51 points, 24 of them came from the charity stripe. Imani Carter came off the bench and made some surges for the Lady Eagles that were much needed, as did Destiny Smith.
Sophomore Daishai Almond was named MVP of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic after recording a double-double against Mississippi Valley State on Friday with 10 points and 11 assists and then recording 10 points and eight rebounds with two blocks Saturday evening against VCU. "It felt good to get these two wins this weekend," said Almond. "Especially when they underestimated us for this game. We started off kind of sluggish, but we ended up pulling through and we came together as a team, communicated, and stuck to our game plan. Being able to feed my teammates and watching the enjoyment on the court and the fans, it makes me feel like I'm scoring when I make a good pass and I see them score. Just being there for my teammates, it gives me the hype. That's my way of showing hypeness on the court."
Almond and Hailes have been playing as a duo of point guards on the court, something the Lady Eagles tried last year and then tried again this year, first at Mississippi State. "Playing with Dump is tremendous, honestly. Especially in the back court, I feel like we're unstoppable."
The Lady Eagles are now 24-8 in the Classic under McNelis and are 54-10 overall in the tournament. This year's installment of the Classic also featured four female head coaches at their respective Universities.
Results
Friday, Nov. 29
Southern Miss 84, Mississippi Valley State 80
VCU 74, Omaha 66
Saturday, Nov. 30
Mississippi Valley State 70, Omaha 78
Southern Miss 51, VCU 39
All-Classic Team
Diamond Wraggs, MVSU
Danielle Hammond, VCU
Tera Reed, VCU
Claire Killian, Omaha
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss
Daishai Almond*, Southern Miss
*MVP
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will take on Tulane in the first game of a Tulane doubleheader with the men on Wednesday, Dec. 5, with the Lady Eagles playing at 5 p.m.
The Lady Eagles finished the Thanksgiving Classic as the victor and improves to 6-1 on the season. Southern Miss is on a five-game winning streak after defeating VCU (3-4).
Southern Miss was led by Shonte Hailes, Daishai Almond, and Kelsey Jones, who all scored in double-digits. Kelsey Jones was a force in the paint going 4-for-7 and going 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Almond was a dominate player, finishing with eight rebounds and two blocks, as well as one steal. Senior Hailes continued her ways, leading the team with 15 points and scoring the teams' only 3-pointer.
A low scoring game overall, the Lady Eagles' 'Fiesty Bunch' defense was in a battle with the Rams. A slow start for Southern Miss in the first quarter led to USM being outscored 12-4, but found their stride in time and came back in the second outscoring VCU 16-13. Shots did not seem to want to fall for the Lady Eagles for a time, but managed to find 16 points in the third. The defense went to work in the fourth quarter to hold their lead, keeping the Rams to just two points in the final quarter. Of the Lady Eagles' 51 points, 24 of them came from the charity stripe. Imani Carter came off the bench and made some surges for the Lady Eagles that were much needed, as did Destiny Smith.
Sophomore Daishai Almond was named MVP of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic after recording a double-double against Mississippi Valley State on Friday with 10 points and 11 assists and then recording 10 points and eight rebounds with two blocks Saturday evening against VCU. "It felt good to get these two wins this weekend," said Almond. "Especially when they underestimated us for this game. We started off kind of sluggish, but we ended up pulling through and we came together as a team, communicated, and stuck to our game plan. Being able to feed my teammates and watching the enjoyment on the court and the fans, it makes me feel like I'm scoring when I make a good pass and I see them score. Just being there for my teammates, it gives me the hype. That's my way of showing hypeness on the court."
Almond and Hailes have been playing as a duo of point guards on the court, something the Lady Eagles tried last year and then tried again this year, first at Mississippi State. "Playing with Dump is tremendous, honestly. Especially in the back court, I feel like we're unstoppable."
The Lady Eagles are now 24-8 in the Classic under McNelis and are 54-10 overall in the tournament. This year's installment of the Classic also featured four female head coaches at their respective Universities.
Results
Friday, Nov. 29
Southern Miss 84, Mississippi Valley State 80
VCU 74, Omaha 66
Saturday, Nov. 30
Mississippi Valley State 70, Omaha 78
Southern Miss 51, VCU 39
All-Classic Team
Diamond Wraggs, MVSU
Danielle Hammond, VCU
Tera Reed, VCU
Claire Killian, Omaha
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss
Daishai Almond*, Southern Miss
*MVP
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will take on Tulane in the first game of a Tulane doubleheader with the men on Wednesday, Dec. 5, with the Lady Eagles playing at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
VCU
USM
FG%
.235
.289
3FG%
.133
.125
FT%
.722
.800
RB
36
40
TO
20
17
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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