Saturday, February 29
El Paso, Texas / Don Haskins Center
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
14-13, 6-10CUSA
72
at
80
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UTEP
-1512, 88 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
USM
16
15
19
22
72
UTEP
19
19
16
26
80
Lady Eagles Drop Tough Contest to UTEP, 80-72
2/29/2020 4:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Southern Miss had three score in double-figures, including a career day for Gibbs.
EL PASO, Texas – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball dropped a hard-fought contest to UTEP on Saturday afternoon in Don Haskins Arena, with a final score of 80-72.
The Lady Eagles (14-13, 6-10) fell to UTEP (15-12, 8-8) but had a career performance from freshman Liz Gibbs. Gibbs stepped into the point guard role as Southern Miss is still without Shonte Hailes due to injury, and was lacking Daishai Almond against the Miners. The Georgia native updated or matched her highs in all but three categories, with her previous high of 10 points being doubled against the Miners. She played 10 more minutes than she ever had previously, dominating the floor for a total of 26 minutes.
Not to be outdone, both Respect Leaphart and Kelsey Jones finished with double-doubles. The last time that happened, it was also with the two of them, but against WKU in Bowling Green in January of 2019. This time around, Leaphart finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, as well as one block, one steal, and three assists. Jones came away with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Eagles started the game off hot, with eight-straight points coming from Liz Gibbs to kick start it all. Leaphart would finish the first quarter with five rebounds, which would accumulate to 13 total rebounds from the Lady Eagles in the frame. Alarie Mayze took a charge early on, which added fuel to the fire the Lady Eagles were building. The Miners and Lady Eagles stayed neck-and-neck for the latter half of the quarter, staying tied up at 16 until a good three-ball dropped for UTEP's Crouse in the dying minute. The second quarter was dominated by Destiny Smith for Southern Miss, who went 3-3 from the line and scored a good trey from the corner, as well as swiped two steals. She finished with seven points in that quarter, providing a big push for her squad going into the half.
The Lady Eagles would see their first winning third quarter since the win at LA Tech, putting up 19 points to the Miners' 16, with 14 of those 19 coming in the paint. Leaphart went on a run early after Mayze scored three points from the foul line as the first points of the game. The Lady Eagles scored four-straight buckets uninterrupted, with three of the four scored by the Florida senior. She finished the frame with eight points, all from the paint, and five rebounds. Gibbs would put the finishing touches on the winning quarter with a good jumper with 10 seconds on the clock. They would go into the fourth quarter down by four to the Miners.
In that fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles would find themselves in the lead by one at the seven minute mark after good jumpers by Jalise Smallwood and Jones, followed by a clutch trey from Imani Carter. Avery Crouse of the Miners would match that three with one of her own, and the Miners started to pull away with it. Gibbs would take two free throws but have just one fall with just under five minutes to go, putting the score at 63-58. Layups came from Jones, Gibbs, Jones again and Leaphart making it 70-66 in the Miners' favor, but a few free throws and then a good three pointer from Katarina Zec would put them ahead by 10 with a minute and change to go. Gibbs would score three-straight in an effort to cut the lead, shaving it down to six. The deed was done when Katarina Zec shot two good free throws to finish off the contest and bringing it to the final score of 80-72.
This was only the third time that the Lady Eagles have played a game on Leap Day, and the second time they have lost when it happens. The first two times were in the 1987-88 season when they fell to Cincinnati at home, and in 1991-92 when they defeated VCU on the road.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will return home to Hattiesburg and will face Florida Atlantic on Thursday, March 5 for a 6 pm tip-off.
The Lady Eagles (14-13, 6-10) fell to UTEP (15-12, 8-8) but had a career performance from freshman Liz Gibbs. Gibbs stepped into the point guard role as Southern Miss is still without Shonte Hailes due to injury, and was lacking Daishai Almond against the Miners. The Georgia native updated or matched her highs in all but three categories, with her previous high of 10 points being doubled against the Miners. She played 10 more minutes than she ever had previously, dominating the floor for a total of 26 minutes.
Not to be outdone, both Respect Leaphart and Kelsey Jones finished with double-doubles. The last time that happened, it was also with the two of them, but against WKU in Bowling Green in January of 2019. This time around, Leaphart finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, as well as one block, one steal, and three assists. Jones came away with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Eagles started the game off hot, with eight-straight points coming from Liz Gibbs to kick start it all. Leaphart would finish the first quarter with five rebounds, which would accumulate to 13 total rebounds from the Lady Eagles in the frame. Alarie Mayze took a charge early on, which added fuel to the fire the Lady Eagles were building. The Miners and Lady Eagles stayed neck-and-neck for the latter half of the quarter, staying tied up at 16 until a good three-ball dropped for UTEP's Crouse in the dying minute. The second quarter was dominated by Destiny Smith for Southern Miss, who went 3-3 from the line and scored a good trey from the corner, as well as swiped two steals. She finished with seven points in that quarter, providing a big push for her squad going into the half.
The Lady Eagles would see their first winning third quarter since the win at LA Tech, putting up 19 points to the Miners' 16, with 14 of those 19 coming in the paint. Leaphart went on a run early after Mayze scored three points from the foul line as the first points of the game. The Lady Eagles scored four-straight buckets uninterrupted, with three of the four scored by the Florida senior. She finished the frame with eight points, all from the paint, and five rebounds. Gibbs would put the finishing touches on the winning quarter with a good jumper with 10 seconds on the clock. They would go into the fourth quarter down by four to the Miners.
In that fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles would find themselves in the lead by one at the seven minute mark after good jumpers by Jalise Smallwood and Jones, followed by a clutch trey from Imani Carter. Avery Crouse of the Miners would match that three with one of her own, and the Miners started to pull away with it. Gibbs would take two free throws but have just one fall with just under five minutes to go, putting the score at 63-58. Layups came from Jones, Gibbs, Jones again and Leaphart making it 70-66 in the Miners' favor, but a few free throws and then a good three pointer from Katarina Zec would put them ahead by 10 with a minute and change to go. Gibbs would score three-straight in an effort to cut the lead, shaving it down to six. The deed was done when Katarina Zec shot two good free throws to finish off the contest and bringing it to the final score of 80-72.
This was only the third time that the Lady Eagles have played a game on Leap Day, and the second time they have lost when it happens. The first two times were in the 1987-88 season when they fell to Cincinnati at home, and in 1991-92 when they defeated VCU on the road.
Up Next
The Lady Eagles will return home to Hattiesburg and will face Florida Atlantic on Thursday, March 5 for a 6 pm tip-off.
Team Stats
USM
UTEPW
FG%
.460
.483
3FG%
.333
.421
FT%
.611
.593
RB
43
30
TO
23
17
STL
9
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballCenter
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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