Lady Eagles Head to the Sunshine State to Face Florida Atlantic

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball hit the road for a three-game away streak, starting with Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Feb. 13 for a 6 p.m. CT matchup in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Lady Eagles (11-11, 3-8) face FAU (10-12, 4-7) on Thursday for just the seventh time in program history. Southern Miss leads the all-time series at 5-1, going 3-1 when in FAU Arena.

Southern Miss is suffering from a cold streak, going seven-straight as of Saturday. The Lady Eagles look to turn it around against the Florida schools this weekend.

"We have played teams that are picked way higher in the RPI," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "Does that make a difference? Yes it does, but it's not an excuse. We brought it within three against WKU several times and right now we're focused on not turning the ball over. Jalise Smallwood, Liz Gibbs and Destiny Smith are going to be our x-factors. We play them based on their practices. One of those three will be the first off the bench. Those three ... we've got to have some production from them to be successful. We've got to be able to have some others that are coming off the bench to be aggressive, adn we're looking for that in those three alongside Alarie Mayze."

The Owls are in much better shape than when the Lady Eagles faced them last year. They ended the 2018-19 season with a 5-25 record, seeing a 2-14 record in C-USA play. Although they are faring better, the Owls are also on a loss streak, theirs being six in a row. They are 4-12 at home and 1-12 on the road. Head Coach Jim Jabir is in his third season in Boca Raton, with a 28-52 record there and a 500-430 record overall in his 32 years of being a head coach. They are led by Crystal Primm, a graduate student from West Palm Beach, Fla. who transferred from Auburn. She now plays for her father, Terry Primm, who is an assistant coach for FAU. Primm leads her team in points with 334 and in rebounds with 170. Freshman guard Lotta Venka-Aho leads the team in assists with 57.

Coach McNelis on FAU
"Florida Atlantic isn't even the same team [as last year]. Their starters are all brand new, they've got more of an international twist which is truly more in Jim Jabir's style of play, and that's why they're more successful. I think they're one of the more feared opponents in the league. We need to be able to handle what they call the 'buzz' defense. They're long, they're smart, and they are good and creating opportunities off of turnovers."

Follow Along
The Lady Eagles' matchup with the Owls will be streamed on C-USA TV. The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call for the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on 92.7 the Score. A full recap will be posted to SouthernMiss.com along with final stats after the conclusion of the matchup. Fans are encouraged to keep up with the action by following the official Twitter account of the Lady Eagles, at @SouthernMissWBB.

Up Next
Southern Miss women's basketball will continue their Florida trip with a short hop over to Miami, where they'll take on FIU on Saturday afternoon.

Lady Eagles Head to the Sunshine State to Face Florida Atlantic

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Players Mentioned

Liz Gibbs

Alarie Mayze

Jalise Smallwood

Destiny Smith