Saturday, February 1
Charlotte, N.C. / Dale F. Halton Arena
3 p.m.
Southern Miss
-119,36 CUSA
59
at
63
Charlotte
-146,54 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss
21
10
13
15
59
Charlotte
18
16
16
13
63
Lady Eagles Go Down to the Wire But Fall to Charlotte
2/1/2020 7:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Southern Miss fell to the 49ers in Halton Arena on Saturday afternoon, 63-59.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball battled with Charlotte on Saturday and made a comeback late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell 63-59 to the 49ers in Halton Arena.
The Lady Eagles (11-9, 3-6) took it down to the wire with the 49ers (14-6, 5-4) and saw a double-double from senior Respect Leaphart. Southern Miss started with a brand new lineup against Charlotte, giving a nod to Destiny Smith for the first time in her career and bringing Amber Landing back into the lineup.
The first frame saw a hot start for the Lady Eagles. Leaphart started it off with a good 3-pointer within the first minute. She ended up finishing the quarter with three rebounds, three assists and five points. Alarie Mayze matched her senior counterpart, shooting a 3-ball of her own with under five minutes to play. Allie Kennedy hit her first trey of the night as well with just eight seconds left on the clock, putting the Lady Eagles up by three to end the quarter 21-18. The Lady Eagles and 49ers went back and forth throughout the second quarter, but Charlotte pulled ahead in the last two minutes to take the lead going into halftime, 34-31. Leaphart wiped the boards three more times during that frame, and led her team in scoring with four points. Jalise Smallwood made her third three of the season at the 4:30 mark, pushing the Lady Eagles ahead. The frame ended with the Lady Eagles scoring 10 and Charlotte putting up 16. In that half, Daishai Almond had already recorded four assists and Amber Landing made two blocks.
The second half started slowly, with the first points coming in the first minute from free throw shots taken by Charlotte, and then no points scored for the next two minutes, until the 49ers scored from the free throw line once more. The Lady Eagles fell behind by as much as eight points in the quarter, but managed to finish the quarter having scored just three points less of the 49ers. Amber Landing was a force on the defense, recording five rebounds. Southern Miss made seven of their nine free throws and were fouled six times.
The fourth quarter is when things got particularly interesting. After starting the quarter behind by six, they saw the lead fluctuate up to eight, back down to six, up to eight and back down several more times within the first five minutes. After that, both teams went relatively cold for the next three minutes before a fast break from Daishai Almond cut the Charlotte lead down to two with 3:31 on the clock. With 1:44 left to go, Jones made one free throw to bring the Lady Eagles within four. Allie Kennedy would make her second trey of the evening to bring it within two after a free throw was made for Charlotte with 49 seconds to go. The clutch move by the junior triggered the coaches to take time outs back to back. After Jones blocked a shot from Mariah Linney, Charlotte took another time out and then Joye Lee-McNelis took a full timeout for her team. Jones was fouled again out of the time out, and she would make just one of her two shots from the charity stripe. Charlotte would take their full timeout, the Lady Eagles now within one. Jade Phillips of Charlotte drew a foul, and made both her shots. With the clock at 13 seconds and the score at 62-59, Charlotte drew another foul. Octavia Jett-Wilson would make one of her two free throws, sealing the Lady Eagles' fate with seven seconds to go. Kelsey Jones saw eight points in the quarter, with four of those points coming from her six free throw attempts. She was fouled five times and wiped the boards seven times. The Lady Eagles scored eight of their 15 points in the paint that frame.
Leaphart would finish with a double-double after posting 17 points and 12 rebounds, 10 of which came on defense. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and recorded three assists and one steal. Daishai Almond led the team in assists with seven, the sixth time this season she has dished out five or more in a contest.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles return home to Hattiesburg and will face Marshall first in their two-game homestand. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. for the Thursday contest against the Thundering Herd.
The Lady Eagles (11-9, 3-6) took it down to the wire with the 49ers (14-6, 5-4) and saw a double-double from senior Respect Leaphart. Southern Miss started with a brand new lineup against Charlotte, giving a nod to Destiny Smith for the first time in her career and bringing Amber Landing back into the lineup.
The first frame saw a hot start for the Lady Eagles. Leaphart started it off with a good 3-pointer within the first minute. She ended up finishing the quarter with three rebounds, three assists and five points. Alarie Mayze matched her senior counterpart, shooting a 3-ball of her own with under five minutes to play. Allie Kennedy hit her first trey of the night as well with just eight seconds left on the clock, putting the Lady Eagles up by three to end the quarter 21-18. The Lady Eagles and 49ers went back and forth throughout the second quarter, but Charlotte pulled ahead in the last two minutes to take the lead going into halftime, 34-31. Leaphart wiped the boards three more times during that frame, and led her team in scoring with four points. Jalise Smallwood made her third three of the season at the 4:30 mark, pushing the Lady Eagles ahead. The frame ended with the Lady Eagles scoring 10 and Charlotte putting up 16. In that half, Daishai Almond had already recorded four assists and Amber Landing made two blocks.
The second half started slowly, with the first points coming in the first minute from free throw shots taken by Charlotte, and then no points scored for the next two minutes, until the 49ers scored from the free throw line once more. The Lady Eagles fell behind by as much as eight points in the quarter, but managed to finish the quarter having scored just three points less of the 49ers. Amber Landing was a force on the defense, recording five rebounds. Southern Miss made seven of their nine free throws and were fouled six times.
The fourth quarter is when things got particularly interesting. After starting the quarter behind by six, they saw the lead fluctuate up to eight, back down to six, up to eight and back down several more times within the first five minutes. After that, both teams went relatively cold for the next three minutes before a fast break from Daishai Almond cut the Charlotte lead down to two with 3:31 on the clock. With 1:44 left to go, Jones made one free throw to bring the Lady Eagles within four. Allie Kennedy would make her second trey of the evening to bring it within two after a free throw was made for Charlotte with 49 seconds to go. The clutch move by the junior triggered the coaches to take time outs back to back. After Jones blocked a shot from Mariah Linney, Charlotte took another time out and then Joye Lee-McNelis took a full timeout for her team. Jones was fouled again out of the time out, and she would make just one of her two shots from the charity stripe. Charlotte would take their full timeout, the Lady Eagles now within one. Jade Phillips of Charlotte drew a foul, and made both her shots. With the clock at 13 seconds and the score at 62-59, Charlotte drew another foul. Octavia Jett-Wilson would make one of her two free throws, sealing the Lady Eagles' fate with seven seconds to go. Kelsey Jones saw eight points in the quarter, with four of those points coming from her six free throw attempts. She was fouled five times and wiped the boards seven times. The Lady Eagles scored eight of their 15 points in the paint that frame.
Leaphart would finish with a double-double after posting 17 points and 12 rebounds, 10 of which came on defense. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and recorded three assists and one steal. Daishai Almond led the team in assists with seven, the sixth time this season she has dished out five or more in a contest.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles return home to Hattiesburg and will face Marshall first in their two-game homestand. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. for the Thursday contest against the Thundering Herd.
Team Stats
USM
CLT
FG%
.392
.387
3FG%
.455
.154
FT%
.737
.406
RB
35
40
TO
20
13
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballCenter
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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