Saturday, February 22
Reed Green Coliseum
4 p.m.
Southern Miss
14-12, 6-9
55
vs
59
Charlotte
19-7, 10-5
1
2
3
4
F
Charlotte
18
8
19
14
59
Southern Miss
14
10
16
15
55
Lady Eagles Drop Close Decision to Charlotte, 59-55
2/22/2020 6:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Southern Miss went down to the wire once again, but ultimately fell to Charlotte.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It was senior night for four Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball, and the Lady Eagles took Charlotte down to the wire, but ultimately fell to the 49ers in a 59-55 decision in Reed Green Coliseum.
The Lady Eagles (14-12, 6-9) played a hard fought game against Charlotte (19-7, 10-5), and went back and forth with them in the final frame, but couldn't get it done at the last second.
Southern Miss won the opening tip, but saw Charlotte score first. The 49ers would go up by as much as 11 in that first quarter with three minutes to go, but that's when the Lady Eagles made their fight to come back. Southern Miss ended up shaving the 49ers lead down to four to end the quarter 18-14. Senior Alarie Mayze, Jalise Smallwood both put up 3-balls to help that push. The second quarter saw the Lady Eagles put a stop to Charlotte, holding them to just eight points while putting up 10 of their own. Allie Kennedy helped the Lady Eagles go on a 7-0 run with a good trey while the Fiesty Bunch had also made Charlotte miss five-straight field goal attempts. A turnover after a Charlotte double dribble gave the ball back to the Lady Eagles with just 30 seconds left in the half, and Mayze would hit her second 3-ball of the night. Going into halftime, it was 26-24 in Charlotte's favor after they responded with a good 3-pointer to pull ahead by two.
The second half saw renewed energy and a sense of grit from the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss had the ball in their control to start the quarter, and Respect Leaphart started off the scoring with a good layup. She would follow that up with another less than a minute after. By the 8:11 mark in the third, she had already amassed eight rebounds. The Lady Eagles found their stride and kept the 49ers within reach throughout. Kelsey Jones started to go to work during the quarter, scoring three-straight buckets for Southern Miss. They would finish out the third quarter within five at 45-40. In the fourth quarter, Jones and the Fiesty Bunch defense went to work. Alarie Mayze would score her third three-pointer, tying her career high, and putting the Lady Eagles within two with seven minutes left to play. Daishai Almond would capitalize on a three-point play to put them two away from Charlotte, 52-50 with four minutes and change left on the clock. Jones and Leaphart scored to keep the 49ers close. With 24 seconds on the clock, Coach Joye Lee-McNelis would call timeout as they were down by three and had the ball. With 18 seconds, traveling was called on the Lady Eagles, and Charlotte would take a timeout. Mayze and Leaphart tried to take the shot that would tie the game, but couldn't get it to fall.
Alarie Mayze would lead her Lady Eagles with 15 points behind three 3-pointers and played the full 40 minutes. Leaphart would finish with a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, which led the team. She is now just 48 points away from 1,000 with 952 in her career. Kelsey Jones led in assists with four, and rounded out those who scored in double-digits with 10 points.
Southern Miss celebrated the four seniors postgame, with portrait presentations to each of the four as well as videos of themselves and messages from Coach McNelis. Respect Leaphart, Alarie Mayze, Amber Landing and Shonte Hailes were all met by their families in the spotlight in Reed Green Coliseum.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will continue to fight on as they travel to El Paso, Texas next to take on UTEP as they second game in the final four scheduled for C-USA. Tip will take place at 2 p.m. CT.
The Lady Eagles (14-12, 6-9) played a hard fought game against Charlotte (19-7, 10-5), and went back and forth with them in the final frame, but couldn't get it done at the last second.
Southern Miss won the opening tip, but saw Charlotte score first. The 49ers would go up by as much as 11 in that first quarter with three minutes to go, but that's when the Lady Eagles made their fight to come back. Southern Miss ended up shaving the 49ers lead down to four to end the quarter 18-14. Senior Alarie Mayze, Jalise Smallwood both put up 3-balls to help that push. The second quarter saw the Lady Eagles put a stop to Charlotte, holding them to just eight points while putting up 10 of their own. Allie Kennedy helped the Lady Eagles go on a 7-0 run with a good trey while the Fiesty Bunch had also made Charlotte miss five-straight field goal attempts. A turnover after a Charlotte double dribble gave the ball back to the Lady Eagles with just 30 seconds left in the half, and Mayze would hit her second 3-ball of the night. Going into halftime, it was 26-24 in Charlotte's favor after they responded with a good 3-pointer to pull ahead by two.
The second half saw renewed energy and a sense of grit from the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss had the ball in their control to start the quarter, and Respect Leaphart started off the scoring with a good layup. She would follow that up with another less than a minute after. By the 8:11 mark in the third, she had already amassed eight rebounds. The Lady Eagles found their stride and kept the 49ers within reach throughout. Kelsey Jones started to go to work during the quarter, scoring three-straight buckets for Southern Miss. They would finish out the third quarter within five at 45-40. In the fourth quarter, Jones and the Fiesty Bunch defense went to work. Alarie Mayze would score her third three-pointer, tying her career high, and putting the Lady Eagles within two with seven minutes left to play. Daishai Almond would capitalize on a three-point play to put them two away from Charlotte, 52-50 with four minutes and change left on the clock. Jones and Leaphart scored to keep the 49ers close. With 24 seconds on the clock, Coach Joye Lee-McNelis would call timeout as they were down by three and had the ball. With 18 seconds, traveling was called on the Lady Eagles, and Charlotte would take a timeout. Mayze and Leaphart tried to take the shot that would tie the game, but couldn't get it to fall.
Alarie Mayze would lead her Lady Eagles with 15 points behind three 3-pointers and played the full 40 minutes. Leaphart would finish with a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, which led the team. She is now just 48 points away from 1,000 with 952 in her career. Kelsey Jones led in assists with four, and rounded out those who scored in double-digits with 10 points.
Southern Miss celebrated the four seniors postgame, with portrait presentations to each of the four as well as videos of themselves and messages from Coach McNelis. Respect Leaphart, Alarie Mayze, Amber Landing and Shonte Hailes were all met by their families in the spotlight in Reed Green Coliseum.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will continue to fight on as they travel to El Paso, Texas next to take on UTEP as they second game in the final four scheduled for C-USA. Tip will take place at 2 p.m. CT.
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Team Stats
CLT
USM
FG%
.377
.382
3FG%
.333
.417
FT%
.737
.727
RB
34
39
TO
15
15
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballCenter
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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