Thursday, February 13
Boca Raton, Fla. / Abessinio Court at FAU Arena
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
12-11 (4-7CUSA)
71
at
67
Florida Atlantic
10-13 (4-8CUSA)
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss
19
16
24
12
71
Fla. Atlantic
16
17
24
10
67
Southern Miss Finds a Win In Paradise
2/13/2020 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Lady Eagles ended a seven-game losing streak at FAU.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball found a win to end a seven-game losing streak, defeating Florida Atlantic 71-67 in the Burrow. It had been around 29 days since the last Lady Eagle victory.
Southern Miss (12-11, 4-8) came away with the win in the final minutes of the fourth against FAU (11-12, 5-7). The Lady Eagles had four players score in double-figures, with three of them being starters. Allie Kennedy and Alarie Mayze were hot from the three-point line, both dropping two 3-pointers.
The Lady Eagles started out cold with an FAU scoring streak of 7-0, and Coach McNelis called a timeout right after the seventh point was scored. After that timeout is when things changed. They bounced back with Liz Gibbs scoring the first points for the Lady Eagles at the 7:35 mark, and ended the quarter with a 19-16 lead over the Owls. Southern Miss scored six second-chance points and eight points in the paint during that frame, and Kennedy scored both her treys. The ball movement improved in the second quarter, and Daishai Almond found her stride. The Lady Eagles maintained their lead into the half, 35-33.
In the third frame, Kelsey Jones started it off with a good jumper. Mayze scored her second 3-ball in the quarter, and followed it up with a good steal-and-score. Daishai Almond was fouled, and then had a 3-point play just after, finishing the quarter with five points and playing all 10 minutes. The Lady Eagles finished the quarter leading by two, 59-57. In the fourth quarter, Kelsey Jones was fouled to start it off, scoring one of her two free throws. The Lady Eagles stayed within one, 60-59, and FAU scored a free throw to tie it up. They stayed tied until the five minute mark when they pulled ahead again by two. Kelsey Jones scored the three points that really helped swing the game. They fell by one, then tied it up again with a minute and 35 seconds on the clock thanks to a Jones free throw. She followed it up with a good jumper, with 43 seconds to go. Allie Kennedy was fouled with just two seconds left, and put two more points on the board to finish it out.
Daishai Almond had a comeback game, scoring seven points and wiping the boards nine times. "I'm very proud of us for performing and stepping up, especially without one of our most important guards being on the floor," said Almond. "Everybody stuck together and stuck to the game plan. I felt like this was one of my better games at point guard this season. I felt like I communicated really well and helped my team overcome. I've been trying to overcome some things too and today just made me feel proud of me and everybody for contributing and getting over the hump. In the fourth quarter we could've laid down, but we kept at it and we kept communicating."
"It brought tears to my eyes," Almond said of snapping the losing streak and the emotion of the game. "It's been a long time coming, and now the streak is over and we've just got to keep at it and continue to grow."
"Kelsey Jones stepped up big time," said Almond. "We're always getting on Kelsey but she really proved that she really can do anything."
"It was a huge victory for us," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "I was not too happy with the way we started the ball game, I didn't even like the way they walked out. I chewed on them and chewed on them. I took Daishai Almond out early and when she went back out after the timeout, I told her I was proud of her and that she needed to lead us the rest of the game to the win, and she did that. She defended, she stayed poised. She tried to run our show, she talked to our team, she talked on the free throw line. It was her best performance this year. It's time for her to take the ownership and for her to play like we know she's capable of playing."
"I told Kelsey last night, we will not win again until you show up," said McNelis. "When I put her back in during the fourth quarter, I told her that it's up to you, and if we win, we will win on your back. You need to rebound out of your area, make plays off the ball, and defend. She said I've got you coach, I've got you. Kelsey took some ownership and did a tremendous job in that fourth quarter. She put us on her back."
Southern Miss (12-11, 4-8) came away with the win in the final minutes of the fourth against FAU (11-12, 5-7). The Lady Eagles had four players score in double-figures, with three of them being starters. Allie Kennedy and Alarie Mayze were hot from the three-point line, both dropping two 3-pointers.
The Lady Eagles started out cold with an FAU scoring streak of 7-0, and Coach McNelis called a timeout right after the seventh point was scored. After that timeout is when things changed. They bounced back with Liz Gibbs scoring the first points for the Lady Eagles at the 7:35 mark, and ended the quarter with a 19-16 lead over the Owls. Southern Miss scored six second-chance points and eight points in the paint during that frame, and Kennedy scored both her treys. The ball movement improved in the second quarter, and Daishai Almond found her stride. The Lady Eagles maintained their lead into the half, 35-33.
In the third frame, Kelsey Jones started it off with a good jumper. Mayze scored her second 3-ball in the quarter, and followed it up with a good steal-and-score. Daishai Almond was fouled, and then had a 3-point play just after, finishing the quarter with five points and playing all 10 minutes. The Lady Eagles finished the quarter leading by two, 59-57. In the fourth quarter, Kelsey Jones was fouled to start it off, scoring one of her two free throws. The Lady Eagles stayed within one, 60-59, and FAU scored a free throw to tie it up. They stayed tied until the five minute mark when they pulled ahead again by two. Kelsey Jones scored the three points that really helped swing the game. They fell by one, then tied it up again with a minute and 35 seconds on the clock thanks to a Jones free throw. She followed it up with a good jumper, with 43 seconds to go. Allie Kennedy was fouled with just two seconds left, and put two more points on the board to finish it out.
Daishai Almond had a comeback game, scoring seven points and wiping the boards nine times. "I'm very proud of us for performing and stepping up, especially without one of our most important guards being on the floor," said Almond. "Everybody stuck together and stuck to the game plan. I felt like this was one of my better games at point guard this season. I felt like I communicated really well and helped my team overcome. I've been trying to overcome some things too and today just made me feel proud of me and everybody for contributing and getting over the hump. In the fourth quarter we could've laid down, but we kept at it and we kept communicating."
"It brought tears to my eyes," Almond said of snapping the losing streak and the emotion of the game. "It's been a long time coming, and now the streak is over and we've just got to keep at it and continue to grow."
"Kelsey Jones stepped up big time," said Almond. "We're always getting on Kelsey but she really proved that she really can do anything."
"It was a huge victory for us," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "I was not too happy with the way we started the ball game, I didn't even like the way they walked out. I chewed on them and chewed on them. I took Daishai Almond out early and when she went back out after the timeout, I told her I was proud of her and that she needed to lead us the rest of the game to the win, and she did that. She defended, she stayed poised. She tried to run our show, she talked to our team, she talked on the free throw line. It was her best performance this year. It's time for her to take the ownership and for her to play like we know she's capable of playing."
"I told Kelsey last night, we will not win again until you show up," said McNelis. "When I put her back in during the fourth quarter, I told her that it's up to you, and if we win, we will win on your back. You need to rebound out of your area, make plays off the ball, and defend. She said I've got you coach, I've got you. Kelsey took some ownership and did a tremendous job in that fourth quarter. She put us on her back."
Team Stats
USM
FAU
FG%
.446
.400
3FG%
.444
.316
FT%
.630
.808
RB
44
23
TO
21
18
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard/Forward
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