Friday, November 25
Reed Green Coliseum
3 p.m.
Southern Miss
3-2,0-0Sun Belt
83
vs
68
Nicholls
2-4,0-0Southland
1
2
3
4
F
Nicholls
15
19
20
14
68
Southern Miss.
15
19
34
15
83
Southern Miss Bests Nicholls in Opening Day of Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic
11/25/2022 7:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss opens the 2022 Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic win a convincing 83-68 win over Nicholls at Reed Green Coliseum. Tied at the half, the Lady Eagles rode a 34-point third quarter and 34-point night from Domonique Davis to put away the Colonels in the second half.
The Black & Gold (3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) struggled early once again before finally gelling in the second half.
The first 2:30 featured no scoring and a combined eight missed field goals from both teams before Nicholls (2-4, 0-0 Southland) notched the first points of the game. Southern Miss' goose egg remained until the 6:51 mark before the first of many Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) buckets tied things at two apiece.
Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) made her return, missing last game due to injury, knocking down an early second-chance three to extend an early lead then followed up the play with an end-to-end rebound and layup.
Southern Miss led by as many as five before Nicholls rushed back to tie things at 15 all.
The second quarter seemed related to the first as the two squads traded blows. Nicholls went up by six early into the frame and held off Southern Miss until the very end, leaving things tied at 34 at the halftime break.
Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) made her presence known midway through the second. On consecutive possessions she blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound, nailed a three on the opposite end and connected on a Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) pass in the paint for her 10th point of the day.
Cornfield, making her first start at the Division I level and second of her career, ended the day quieter than normal but still managed the Lady Eagle offense well throughout the contest.
Eight seconds into the second half, Southern Miss grabbed the lead and never looked back. Davis garnered the first three points of a 16-point third quarter performance with a corner three off the hands of Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss. // Ole Miss).
Davis continued the burst, hitting again from the paint and forced a Nicholls timeout after a Colonels turnover turned layup at the 8:56 mark.
She ended the quarter 6-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-3 from the foul line. Bracey grabbed three steals in the frame as Southern Miss removed all doubt as to who was in the driver seat of the game.
The Lady Eagles finished off the Colonels in the fourth quarter as they cruised to a 15-point win. Davis finished 13-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three and grabbed 10 boards to record her first career double-double, leading both teams in all three categories.
Emma Wallhoff (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. // Westminster Academy) made her first appearance since Valparaiso, playing 13 minutes.
Most notably, Lady Eagle newcomer Femi Funeus made her first appearance as a Lady Eagle and stepped on the court for the first time in 714 days, last playing on Dec. 11, 2020 where she suffered a season-ending injury at Seton Hall. Funeus finished 3-of-5 on limited minutes and grabbed on rebound.
Up Next
Southern Miss closes out the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 26, against Lamar at 5 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Black & Gold (3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) struggled early once again before finally gelling in the second half.
The first 2:30 featured no scoring and a combined eight missed field goals from both teams before Nicholls (2-4, 0-0 Southland) notched the first points of the game. Southern Miss' goose egg remained until the 6:51 mark before the first of many Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) buckets tied things at two apiece.
Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) made her return, missing last game due to injury, knocking down an early second-chance three to extend an early lead then followed up the play with an end-to-end rebound and layup.
Southern Miss led by as many as five before Nicholls rushed back to tie things at 15 all.
The second quarter seemed related to the first as the two squads traded blows. Nicholls went up by six early into the frame and held off Southern Miss until the very end, leaving things tied at 34 at the halftime break.
Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) made her presence known midway through the second. On consecutive possessions she blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound, nailed a three on the opposite end and connected on a Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) pass in the paint for her 10th point of the day.
Cornfield, making her first start at the Division I level and second of her career, ended the day quieter than normal but still managed the Lady Eagle offense well throughout the contest.
Eight seconds into the second half, Southern Miss grabbed the lead and never looked back. Davis garnered the first three points of a 16-point third quarter performance with a corner three off the hands of Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss. // Ole Miss).
Davis continued the burst, hitting again from the paint and forced a Nicholls timeout after a Colonels turnover turned layup at the 8:56 mark.
She ended the quarter 6-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-3 from the foul line. Bracey grabbed three steals in the frame as Southern Miss removed all doubt as to who was in the driver seat of the game.
The Lady Eagles finished off the Colonels in the fourth quarter as they cruised to a 15-point win. Davis finished 13-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three and grabbed 10 boards to record her first career double-double, leading both teams in all three categories.
Emma Wallhoff (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. // Westminster Academy) made her first appearance since Valparaiso, playing 13 minutes.
Most notably, Lady Eagle newcomer Femi Funeus made her first appearance as a Lady Eagle and stepped on the court for the first time in 714 days, last playing on Dec. 11, 2020 where she suffered a season-ending injury at Seton Hall. Funeus finished 3-of-5 on limited minutes and grabbed on rebound.
Up Next
Southern Miss closes out the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 26, against Lamar at 5 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum.
Team Stats
NichSt
USM
FG%
.509
.458
3FG%
.368
.304
FT%
.778
.625
RB
29
42
TO
20
13
STL
5
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
34
FGM
13
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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