Thursday, January 16
Denton, Texas / The Super Pit
7 p.m.
Southern Miss
-114,31 CUSA
65
at
57
North Texas
-710,14 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
24
14
9
18
65
North Texas
19
16
13
9
57
Lady Eagles Pick Up a Win in Denton
1/16/2020 9:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Southern Miss improved to 11-4 behind a powerful performance from Respect Leaphart.
DENTON, Texas – Southern Miss women's basketball picked up their first Conference road win of the season in Denton, defeating North Texas 65-57 in the Super Pit on Thursday night.
The Lady Eagles improved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in C-USA play after their battle against the Mean Green. Southern Miss had a relatively slow start at the very beginning of the first quarter, while North Texas shot three consecutive 3-pointers to start the contest. The Lady Eagles warmed up fast, and ended up overtaking the Mean Green in that first frame, 24-19. The 24 points from USM was a season-high points allowed in the first from UNT. The Lady Eagles went 50% from the floor and a perfect 4-4 during that quarter. In that opening 20 minutes, Respect Leaphart put 18 points on the board and collected seven rebounds.
The entire first half, Southern Miss was red hot. However, the Mean Green were able to keep in step with the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss had a strong defensive performance down the second half stretch. They had a slight cold spell offensively in the third quarter, but came back with a vengeance in the final frame, going 58.3% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
North Texas shot out to the lead early in the fourth, dropping three consecutive shots to start it off 54-49. They had been shooting 50% from the field and were perfect on the charity stripe, but the Lady Eagles caused them to turn ice cold after those first three shots.
The Lady Eagles came into the game tied for the top spot in C-USA for steals per game with 10.5, and their defensive gusto was shown against UNT as they forced 19 turnovers and swiped 12 steals.
Overall, Respect Leaphart finished the game with 22 points and was just one rebound shy of hitting a double-double. She went 11-for-20 from the floor, both career highs for the senior. Shonte Hailes put up 14 points and dished out seven assists, tying her season-high. Alarie Mayze also had a good night, posting 12 points and five steals with her high school coach and their current squad in attendance.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
"I really am proud of my team tonight. North Texas got off to a great start, we battled tooth and nail there. We had some screw ups in the second quarter, and that kind of changed some things. Coming out into the third quarter we're not really in sync. Kelsey Jones stepped up in that fourth quarter. I challenged her to no end in that locker room at halftime. She very easily could've laid down and quit. She really stepped up and answered that challenge. Moving Shonte Hailes to the point guard position was huge. She totally took control of that fourth quarter and it was definitely she and Kelsey that made that happen. In that first half, it was Respect Leaphart. I felt like Respect had the biggest mismatch, and then they changed their starting lineup and we felt like it fit more into what we were looking for. I think that first half was the best half of basketball Respect has played. She played solid in the second half, but not to the same level as in the first."
Senior Respect Leaphart
"You've just always got to stay ready and it felt good that I was ready for the challenge and not having to come back and fight for it but starting it off from the tip being ready for it. Coming in and knowing it would be a challenge and being able to rise above the challenge is the main thing and the best thing. Every step we take toward the end of the season, we've got to own it. We can't go out with regrets. We've got to step up knowing that we have to dominate, know we have to take care of business."
Up Next
It's a fight for first place in Conference USA and Southern Miss and Rice will battle it out on Saturday at 2pm in Tudor Fieldhouse for that spot statistically. Rice was the preseason favorite in the league.
The Lady Eagles improved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in C-USA play after their battle against the Mean Green. Southern Miss had a relatively slow start at the very beginning of the first quarter, while North Texas shot three consecutive 3-pointers to start the contest. The Lady Eagles warmed up fast, and ended up overtaking the Mean Green in that first frame, 24-19. The 24 points from USM was a season-high points allowed in the first from UNT. The Lady Eagles went 50% from the floor and a perfect 4-4 during that quarter. In that opening 20 minutes, Respect Leaphart put 18 points on the board and collected seven rebounds.
The entire first half, Southern Miss was red hot. However, the Mean Green were able to keep in step with the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss had a strong defensive performance down the second half stretch. They had a slight cold spell offensively in the third quarter, but came back with a vengeance in the final frame, going 58.3% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
North Texas shot out to the lead early in the fourth, dropping three consecutive shots to start it off 54-49. They had been shooting 50% from the field and were perfect on the charity stripe, but the Lady Eagles caused them to turn ice cold after those first three shots.
The Lady Eagles came into the game tied for the top spot in C-USA for steals per game with 10.5, and their defensive gusto was shown against UNT as they forced 19 turnovers and swiped 12 steals.
Overall, Respect Leaphart finished the game with 22 points and was just one rebound shy of hitting a double-double. She went 11-for-20 from the floor, both career highs for the senior. Shonte Hailes put up 14 points and dished out seven assists, tying her season-high. Alarie Mayze also had a good night, posting 12 points and five steals with her high school coach and their current squad in attendance.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
"I really am proud of my team tonight. North Texas got off to a great start, we battled tooth and nail there. We had some screw ups in the second quarter, and that kind of changed some things. Coming out into the third quarter we're not really in sync. Kelsey Jones stepped up in that fourth quarter. I challenged her to no end in that locker room at halftime. She very easily could've laid down and quit. She really stepped up and answered that challenge. Moving Shonte Hailes to the point guard position was huge. She totally took control of that fourth quarter and it was definitely she and Kelsey that made that happen. In that first half, it was Respect Leaphart. I felt like Respect had the biggest mismatch, and then they changed their starting lineup and we felt like it fit more into what we were looking for. I think that first half was the best half of basketball Respect has played. She played solid in the second half, but not to the same level as in the first."
Senior Respect Leaphart
"You've just always got to stay ready and it felt good that I was ready for the challenge and not having to come back and fight for it but starting it off from the tip being ready for it. Coming in and knowing it would be a challenge and being able to rise above the challenge is the main thing and the best thing. Every step we take toward the end of the season, we've got to own it. We can't go out with regrets. We've got to step up knowing that we have to dominate, know we have to take care of business."
Up Next
It's a fight for first place in Conference USA and Southern Miss and Rice will battle it out on Saturday at 2pm in Tudor Fieldhouse for that spot statistically. Rice was the preseason favorite in the league.
Team Stats
USM
UNT
FG%
.422
.458
3FG%
.300
.250
FT%
.889
.875
RB
34
30
TO
10
19
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
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