Wednesday, December 4
Reed Green Coliseum
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
6-1
58
vs
62
Tulane
3-5
1
2
3
4
F
Tulane
15
7
17
23
62
Southern Miss
14
16
14
14
58
WBB Falls in Battle with Tulane
12/4/2019 7:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Lady Eagles fall to 6-2 on the season.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball fell 62-58 to Tulane on Wednesday night in Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss falls to 6-2 on the season after the Battle for I-59. The Lady Eagles started out neck-and-neck with the Green Wave, and finished the half leading 30-22. Southern Miss held Tulane to just seven points in the second quarter; the defense making opportunities. In the third quarter, Southern Miss led by 17 with 5:59 to go. Tulane cut the lead to five with just 28 seconds left on the clock to end the third. The fourth saw a lead change within one minute of the clock starting. The Lady Eagles kept them within reach, never allowing them to gain a lead more than five points deep. Tulane's play in the zone seemed to freeze the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss brought them within two with just nine seconds left, but two fouls gave them four more point opportunities, and sealed the fate of Joye Lee-McNelis' squad.
The Lady Eagles were led by Respect Leaphart against the Green Wave, who posted 16 points. Kelsey Jones started in her first career game and had seven boards along with Alarie Mayze. Leaphart and Daishai Almond both had three assists, with Leaphart also recording three steals, tying her season high in both. Freshman Liz Gibbs had a standout performance for the Lady Eagles, posting a season-high eight points all within the first quarter. She also took three charges on the night in her 15 minutes of play.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
"We didn't handle their pressure at all. We turned the ball over, we didn't take ownership of the ball. I wrote on the board when we went to the locker room "details matter". Bottom line. You have a lead, you know they are going to press for the rest of the game, how close do you let them get? You work the timeout situation in case you have an advance, and you think you can weather the storm because you think you can depend on some individuals to handle the pressure but unfortunately, we didn't. I thought the guard that brought the most energy on the floor was from the freshman Liz Gibbs, there was no doubt – she was truly a difference maker."
Freshman Guard Liz Gibbs
"When she puts me in the game, she expects me to have energy. That adrenaline I have, watching my teammates, and learning from the mistakes that they make; I just tune in and do those things that are expected of me. Even though we lost, we didn't lose a lesson. We learned a lot from the game."
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will take a break and be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 15 against the South Alabama Jaguars in Reed Green Coliseum at 2 p.m.
Southern Miss falls to 6-2 on the season after the Battle for I-59. The Lady Eagles started out neck-and-neck with the Green Wave, and finished the half leading 30-22. Southern Miss held Tulane to just seven points in the second quarter; the defense making opportunities. In the third quarter, Southern Miss led by 17 with 5:59 to go. Tulane cut the lead to five with just 28 seconds left on the clock to end the third. The fourth saw a lead change within one minute of the clock starting. The Lady Eagles kept them within reach, never allowing them to gain a lead more than five points deep. Tulane's play in the zone seemed to freeze the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss brought them within two with just nine seconds left, but two fouls gave them four more point opportunities, and sealed the fate of Joye Lee-McNelis' squad.
The Lady Eagles were led by Respect Leaphart against the Green Wave, who posted 16 points. Kelsey Jones started in her first career game and had seven boards along with Alarie Mayze. Leaphart and Daishai Almond both had three assists, with Leaphart also recording three steals, tying her season high in both. Freshman Liz Gibbs had a standout performance for the Lady Eagles, posting a season-high eight points all within the first quarter. She also took three charges on the night in her 15 minutes of play.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
"We didn't handle their pressure at all. We turned the ball over, we didn't take ownership of the ball. I wrote on the board when we went to the locker room "details matter". Bottom line. You have a lead, you know they are going to press for the rest of the game, how close do you let them get? You work the timeout situation in case you have an advance, and you think you can weather the storm because you think you can depend on some individuals to handle the pressure but unfortunately, we didn't. I thought the guard that brought the most energy on the floor was from the freshman Liz Gibbs, there was no doubt – she was truly a difference maker."
Freshman Guard Liz Gibbs
"When she puts me in the game, she expects me to have energy. That adrenaline I have, watching my teammates, and learning from the mistakes that they make; I just tune in and do those things that are expected of me. Even though we lost, we didn't lose a lesson. We learned a lot from the game."
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will take a break and be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 15 against the South Alabama Jaguars in Reed Green Coliseum at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
TULANE
USM
FG%
.373
.361
3FG%
.211
.231
FT%
.583
.611
RB
40
45
TO
20
23
STL
13
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
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