Saturday, January 18
Houston, Texas / Tudor Fieldhouse
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
at
Rice
WBB Hits Houston for Rice Saturday
1/17/2020 2:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
It will be a fight on the floor of Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday at 2 p.m. as the winner will be atop of Conference USA.
HOUSTON, Texas – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball are up against Rice on Saturday for a hot C-USA matchup in Tudor Fieldhouse, with tip set at 2 p.m.
Southern Miss (11-4, 3-1) takes on Rice (10-6, 5-0) for a top spot in the league on Saturday afternoon. The Owls are on a hot streak, winning all five of the start of the Conference slate. Southern Miss is currently tied for second in the league along with UTEP and ODU statistically.Â
In the series with Rice, the Lady Eagles are tied at eight with the Owls. Southern Miss owns the record at home at 5-4, but the Owls hold it on their home court, 4-3 at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles look to tip the scales in their favor in the upcoming matchup. The last time the two met, it was in Reed Green Coliseum and the Owls took the W despite the Lady Eagles leading at the half.Â
The Lady Eagles come off a win in Denton at North Texas with a 65-57 score to hit Houston. They were led in scoring and rebounds by Respect Leaphart with 22 points and nine rebounds, a near double-double. Shonte Hailes tied her season-high in assists with seven. The Lady Eagles went 50% from the field in the first quarter, and then did it again in the fourth with a field percentage of 58.3%. Southern Miss got hot in that fourth and made North Texas go ice cold after their first three points of the frame.
Rice is coming off a 60-47 win at home against LA Tech on Thursday. They are led by Erica Ogwumike in both points and rebounds with 246 and 139, respectively. Jasmine Smith leads the team in assists with 44. So far in conference play, they have defeated Marshall, WKU, FAU, FIU, and LA Tech.Â
"It's going to be a great matchup and tonight gives us a tremendous amount of confidence going into that game," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis on Thursday after the win at North Texas. "We only lost to Rice last year by eight at our place and we played well in spurts in that game. Our fans obviously made a big difference, but when you play in Tudor Fieldhouse, it's a small arena, and you can't hardly hear in there and it makes everything a whole lot tougher. I think that's going to be our challenge: they are going to have the home court advantage. But if we can go in and play, and if Respect can give us at least 30 minutes of what she did in 20, Kelsey give us 30 of what she did in 10 and Shonte Hailes show up and play like she did in that fourth quarter and get some help from other folks, Alarie Mayze being one, we could pull it off."
Up Next
After their Texas two-step, the Lady Eagles will return to Reed Green Coliseum with their next matchup taking place on Thursday, Jan. 23 against UAB. The game is set to be streamed on ESPN+ with a tip time of 6 p.m. in Hattiesburg.
Southern Miss (11-4, 3-1) takes on Rice (10-6, 5-0) for a top spot in the league on Saturday afternoon. The Owls are on a hot streak, winning all five of the start of the Conference slate. Southern Miss is currently tied for second in the league along with UTEP and ODU statistically.Â
In the series with Rice, the Lady Eagles are tied at eight with the Owls. Southern Miss owns the record at home at 5-4, but the Owls hold it on their home court, 4-3 at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles look to tip the scales in their favor in the upcoming matchup. The last time the two met, it was in Reed Green Coliseum and the Owls took the W despite the Lady Eagles leading at the half.Â
The Lady Eagles come off a win in Denton at North Texas with a 65-57 score to hit Houston. They were led in scoring and rebounds by Respect Leaphart with 22 points and nine rebounds, a near double-double. Shonte Hailes tied her season-high in assists with seven. The Lady Eagles went 50% from the field in the first quarter, and then did it again in the fourth with a field percentage of 58.3%. Southern Miss got hot in that fourth and made North Texas go ice cold after their first three points of the frame.
Rice is coming off a 60-47 win at home against LA Tech on Thursday. They are led by Erica Ogwumike in both points and rebounds with 246 and 139, respectively. Jasmine Smith leads the team in assists with 44. So far in conference play, they have defeated Marshall, WKU, FAU, FIU, and LA Tech.Â
"It's going to be a great matchup and tonight gives us a tremendous amount of confidence going into that game," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis on Thursday after the win at North Texas. "We only lost to Rice last year by eight at our place and we played well in spurts in that game. Our fans obviously made a big difference, but when you play in Tudor Fieldhouse, it's a small arena, and you can't hardly hear in there and it makes everything a whole lot tougher. I think that's going to be our challenge: they are going to have the home court advantage. But if we can go in and play, and if Respect can give us at least 30 minutes of what she did in 20, Kelsey give us 30 of what she did in 10 and Shonte Hailes show up and play like she did in that fourth quarter and get some help from other folks, Alarie Mayze being one, we could pull it off."
Up Next
After their Texas two-step, the Lady Eagles will return to Reed Green Coliseum with their next matchup taking place on Thursday, Jan. 23 against UAB. The game is set to be streamed on ESPN+ with a tip time of 6 p.m. in Hattiesburg.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
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