Saturday, February 27
Boca Raton, Fla. / Abessinio Court at FAU Arena
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
-711,511 CUSA
61
at
86
Florida Atlantic
-99,77 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
13
16
11
21
61
Fla. Atlantic
27
19
24
16
86
Lady Eagles Drop Regular Season Finale at FAU
2/27/2021 5:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Southern Miss was never able to find its groove in the contest as the Lady Eagles fell 86-61 at FAU Arena on Saturday Afternoon.
"The first quarter really got us mentally," head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "As coaches, we have to help them overcome these mental obstacles. We just have to regroup and we have to be able to take some pressure off of the players."
FAU (9-9, 7-7 C-USA) opened the game on a 21-5 run and never looked back as four different Owls finished in double figures.
The Black and Gold (7-11, 5-11 C-USA) were unable to get going offensively without leading scorer and rebounder Melyia Grayson, until the fourth quarter where they outscored the Owls 21-16.
Playing without arguably their best defender in Jalise Smallwood, the Lady Eagles gave up a season-high 86 points, including allowing the Owls to go 13-of-26 from beyond the arc.
Destiny Smith had a career-high 12 points in the defeat, with six of those in the final quarter of play. Kelsey Jones joined Smith as the only other Southern Miss player in double figures with 10 points of her own.
Southern Miss was held to just 34.4 percent from the field (22-64) and were outrebounded 42 to 27 in the game.
The Owls were led by Amber Gaston's career-high 22 points, while four other Owls joined her in double figures.
The Lady Eagles will take the week off before heading to Frisco, Texas for the Conference USA tournament.
"The first quarter really got us mentally," head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "As coaches, we have to help them overcome these mental obstacles. We just have to regroup and we have to be able to take some pressure off of the players."
FAU (9-9, 7-7 C-USA) opened the game on a 21-5 run and never looked back as four different Owls finished in double figures.
The Black and Gold (7-11, 5-11 C-USA) were unable to get going offensively without leading scorer and rebounder Melyia Grayson, until the fourth quarter where they outscored the Owls 21-16.
Playing without arguably their best defender in Jalise Smallwood, the Lady Eagles gave up a season-high 86 points, including allowing the Owls to go 13-of-26 from beyond the arc.
Destiny Smith had a career-high 12 points in the defeat, with six of those in the final quarter of play. Kelsey Jones joined Smith as the only other Southern Miss player in double figures with 10 points of her own.
Southern Miss was held to just 34.4 percent from the field (22-64) and were outrebounded 42 to 27 in the game.
The Owls were led by Amber Gaston's career-high 22 points, while four other Owls joined her in double figures.
The Lady Eagles will take the week off before heading to Frisco, Texas for the Conference USA tournament.
Team Stats
USM
FAU
FG%
.344
.558
3FG%
.214
.500
FT%
.778
.652
RB
27
42
TO
18
21
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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