Southern Miss Welcomes WKU for Saturday Matchup

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss women's basketball return to the court on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lady Toppers of WKU for a 4 p.m. matchup in Reed Green Coliseum.

Promotions
The Lady Eagles are hosting their Cancer Awareness game, where this year, Southern Miss is raising awareness for all types of cancer. The first 100 fans through the door will receive a t-shirt and awareness ribbon stickers will be available while supplies last. All who have battled cancer can receive up to two free tickets to the contest. The Lady Eagles continue their Reaching New Heights promotion, with this game being centered on Respect Leaphart. The senior is 6'0" and so tickets have been priced at $6.00.

What's Up
Southern Miss (11-0, 3-7) will face WKU (15-6, 7-3) for just the 10th time in the matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Eagles lead the series in Reed Green 2-1, but the Lady Toppers lead the series overall, 5-4. Despite that, Southern Miss is on a two-game win streak against the Lady Toppers. The last time the two met, Southern Miss defeated WKU on the road, 69-56, ending a 22-game consecutive conference win streak for the Lady Toppers in Diddle Arena.

The Lady Eagles are coming off their sixth-straight loss of the season to Marshall, 80-65. Southern Miss started a brand new lineup for the second game in a row, this time featuring Alarie Mayze, Respect Leaphart, Amber Landing, Daishai Almond and Allie Kennedy. Mayze led the Lady Eagles, tying her career-high in points with 19 and tying and breaking several others. Three Lady Eagles overall scored in double-digits: Mayze (19), Leaphart (16), and Kelsey Jones (10). Mayze hit three treys on the night, and Kennedy hit two. Marshall was hot from the 3-point line, scoring 11 of their 30 shots taken. They were led by junior forward Taylor Pearson with 21 points as she shot six three-pointers. With Shonte Hailes being out for two games, Leaphart is the second leading scorer, averaging 14.0 points per game.

WKU heads to Hattiesburg on a five-game win streak, having defeated LA Tech most recently with a 84-75 win in Ruston on Thursday night. The Lady Toppers are currently in fourth-place in C-USA, and have been involved in the bracketology for the NCAA Tournament, being included as one of the last four out. WKU is the league's leader in steals with 10.1 per game, while Southern Miss sits in second with 10.0 per game. Raneem Elgedawy is the leading scorer for the Lady Toppers with 366 points so far this season, and also leads in rebounds with 220. Whitney Creech is their leader in assists with 92.

Follow the Lady Eagles
The matchup with WKU on Saturday will be the second broadcast for Southern Miss on ESPN+. Josh West and Larry Boyd will be on the call for the streaming service. The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call on the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on 92.7 the Score along with the legendary Kay James. Southern Miss fans are encouraged to follow the Lady Eagles on their official Twitter account, @SouthernMissWBB, for updates and highlights throughout the game. A full recap and final stats from the matchup will be posted to SouthernMiss.com after the conclusion of the game.

Next Up
As the Lady Eagles wrap up another homestand, they will prepare to hit the road for Florida. Southern Miss will first head to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Feb. 13 for a 6 p.m. CT tip off.

Southern Miss Welcomes WKU for Saturday Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Daishai Almond

Shonte Hailes

Kelsey Jones

Allie Kennedy

Amber Landing

Respect Leaphart

Alarie Mayze

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics