Saturday, February 15
Miami, Fla. / Ocean Bank Convocation Center
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
13-11, 5-8
58
at
53
FIU
5-19, 2-11
1
2
3
4
F
USM
9
15
11
23
58
FIUW
14
13
12
14
53
Lady Eagles Sweep Florida Swing, Defeating FIU 58-53
2/15/2020 5:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Southern Miss made a push in the fourth quarter to down the Panthers.
MIAMI, Fla. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss Women's Basketball made a sweep out of the road swing to Florida, defeating FIU 58-53 in Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Eagles (13-11, 5-8) defeated FIU (5-19, 2-11) after a bout on the court, and was led by Florida native Respect Leaphart in the defeat.
Southern Miss and FIU started the contest out slowly, but a good 3-ball from Leaphart started off the scoring for both teams and started to get the ball rolling for the Lady Eagles. Leaphart scored three times during the quarter, but it wasn't enough for Southern Miss to win the quarter. Going into the second frame, they were down 14-9 to the Panthers. The second quarter saw scoring from the bench, with five of their 15 points coming from the non-starters. FIU's turnovers were turned into eight points for the Lady Eagles. Going into the half, the Lady Eagles were down 27-24 to the Panthers, but had them within reach.
In the third quarter, Southern Miss saw 11 points to FIU's 12, but made strides toward overtaking the Panthers. Daishai Almond put in work during the frame, recording three good layups. The Lady Eagles scored eight points during that quarter, and six points from FIU's turnovers. The Lady Eagles also worked for four fast break points. The fourth quarter saw the Lady Eagles heat up, with nine of their 23 points coming from foul shots. Leaphart started off the scoring with a good layup, bringing Southern Miss within two. The Lady Eagles would fall behind again to as much as eight points with just under six minutes to go, but a jumper by Kelsey jones and then from Leaphart cut the lead to four, then a free throw shot from Almond and a layup from Leaphart brought it within one. FIU would shoot two good free throws to jump ahead, but Southern Miss caught up to tie it thanks to Leaphart, and it was all Lady Eagles from there with 2:33 to go. FIU would only score once more, behind a good trey from Jiselle Thomas. In that final frame, Southern Miss had 12 points in the paint, 11 off turnovers and eight bench points. It was a gritty fourth-quarter finish for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss improved to 4-5 on the road with the win against the Panthers.
"This game, I think it shows some growth for us," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "With 4:57 to play, they have the ball and we're down six, and we have to get a defensive stop and then things begin to happen for us. Jalise Smallwood's work on the defensive side of the ball was a big, big factor for us. I'm so proud of them, it's an unbelievable opportunity for us to kind of gain some confidence and that's what we talked about in the locker room after the game. I told them, 'you have changed the mentality because you've found the will to improve, to get better, to try to do what's asked instead of fighting against the process, you've decided you want to get it done, and I'm proud that you're saying 'let's do it''. We can't slide anywhere without Shonte Hailes, we've got to get it done. My staff did a great job this weekend as well, and our team did a great job."
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will continue their road swing, traveling next to Ruston, La. for a Thursday game against LA Tech. It will be a 6:30pm start time.
The Lady Eagles (13-11, 5-8) defeated FIU (5-19, 2-11) after a bout on the court, and was led by Florida native Respect Leaphart in the defeat.
Southern Miss and FIU started the contest out slowly, but a good 3-ball from Leaphart started off the scoring for both teams and started to get the ball rolling for the Lady Eagles. Leaphart scored three times during the quarter, but it wasn't enough for Southern Miss to win the quarter. Going into the second frame, they were down 14-9 to the Panthers. The second quarter saw scoring from the bench, with five of their 15 points coming from the non-starters. FIU's turnovers were turned into eight points for the Lady Eagles. Going into the half, the Lady Eagles were down 27-24 to the Panthers, but had them within reach.
In the third quarter, Southern Miss saw 11 points to FIU's 12, but made strides toward overtaking the Panthers. Daishai Almond put in work during the frame, recording three good layups. The Lady Eagles scored eight points during that quarter, and six points from FIU's turnovers. The Lady Eagles also worked for four fast break points. The fourth quarter saw the Lady Eagles heat up, with nine of their 23 points coming from foul shots. Leaphart started off the scoring with a good layup, bringing Southern Miss within two. The Lady Eagles would fall behind again to as much as eight points with just under six minutes to go, but a jumper by Kelsey jones and then from Leaphart cut the lead to four, then a free throw shot from Almond and a layup from Leaphart brought it within one. FIU would shoot two good free throws to jump ahead, but Southern Miss caught up to tie it thanks to Leaphart, and it was all Lady Eagles from there with 2:33 to go. FIU would only score once more, behind a good trey from Jiselle Thomas. In that final frame, Southern Miss had 12 points in the paint, 11 off turnovers and eight bench points. It was a gritty fourth-quarter finish for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss improved to 4-5 on the road with the win against the Panthers.
"This game, I think it shows some growth for us," said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "With 4:57 to play, they have the ball and we're down six, and we have to get a defensive stop and then things begin to happen for us. Jalise Smallwood's work on the defensive side of the ball was a big, big factor for us. I'm so proud of them, it's an unbelievable opportunity for us to kind of gain some confidence and that's what we talked about in the locker room after the game. I told them, 'you have changed the mentality because you've found the will to improve, to get better, to try to do what's asked instead of fighting against the process, you've decided you want to get it done, and I'm proud that you're saying 'let's do it''. We can't slide anywhere without Shonte Hailes, we've got to get it done. My staff did a great job this weekend as well, and our team did a great job."
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will continue their road swing, traveling next to Ruston, La. for a Thursday game against LA Tech. It will be a 6:30pm start time.
Team Stats
USM
FIU
FG%
.412
.408
3FG%
.250
.250
FT%
.560
.533
RB
27
41
TO
15
26
STL
15
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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