Saturday, December 17
Long Beach, Calif. / Walter Pyramid
5:30 p.m. CST / 3:30 p.m. PST
Southern Miss
7-4,0-0Sun Belt
56
at
50
Long Beach State
5-4,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
9
11
14
22
56
Long Beach St.
7
19
13
11
50
Southern Miss Completes Sweep of Long Beach Classic in Nonconference Finale
12/17/2022 8:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Southern Miss rides a 22-point fourth quarter and 20 points from Domonique Davis in a 56-50 comeback victory over homestanding Long Beach State in the finale of the 2022 Beach Classic. The Lady Eagles close out conference play 7-4 overall and now look towards a Dec. 29 clash with the reigning Sun Belt Conference champions, Troy.
Tale of the Tape
A quiet performance from the Chardai Watkins (Panola, Ala. // Sumter Central HS) and 13 points from sophomore transfer Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) complimented Davis' (DeRidder, La. // LSU) 21 points perfectly in the Lady Eagles' second win in as many tries at the Long Beach Classic.
Southern Miss (7-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) rode with the lineup of Davis, Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.), Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida), Femi Funeus (Plantation, Fla. // Seton Hall) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) for the fifth-straight game.
A defensive struggle ensued following the opening jump ball with the first point coming at the 6:51 mark as Domonique Davis connected on a free throw, the first of her 21-point performance.
Cornfield drained the first of two threes on the afternoon from way outside the arc on a true buzzer beater to extend Southern Miss' lead to 4-1.
The opening frame ended 9-7, with the Lady Eagles leading.
Long Beach State (5-4, 0-0 Big West) tied things up two minutes into the second quarter and took the lead on the next possession. The Beach would lead by as many as seven points in the contest.
At the halftime buzzer, the Beach led the Black & Gold 26-20 as the team entered the locker rooms. True to form, Southern Miss came out with their hair on fire, besting the Beach in third quarter 14-13 and closing out the game in the fourth with a 22-11 margin.
LBSU held on to the lead the entirety of the third frame, but Southern Miss chipped away at the Beach's defense as Grayson scored two late baskets to close the quarter down 39-34.
A technical foul drawn by Grayson and two free throws from Cornfield made it a three-point game. Cornfield's two makes at the line were crucial in completing the comeback as Bracey connected on a layup to tie things at 40 apiece with 5:32 left in the contest.
Watkins made one of two attempts at the charity stripe to take lead for good. Davis' eight fourth quarter points paced both teams.
The 36-point fourth quarter line completed the Lady Eagles first true road win of the year and second at the Long Beach Classic.
Domonique Davis collected All-Tournament Team Honors as well as MVP Honors.
Up Next
Southern Miss enjoys the holidays after an impressive finish to nonconference play before opening Sun Belt play at Troy on Thursday, Dec. 29. Southern Miss' next appearance at Reed Green Coliseum comes on Thursday, Jan .5 against Louisiana.
Tale of the Tape
A quiet performance from the Chardai Watkins (Panola, Ala. // Sumter Central HS) and 13 points from sophomore transfer Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) complimented Davis' (DeRidder, La. // LSU) 21 points perfectly in the Lady Eagles' second win in as many tries at the Long Beach Classic.
Southern Miss (7-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) rode with the lineup of Davis, Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.), Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida), Femi Funeus (Plantation, Fla. // Seton Hall) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) for the fifth-straight game.
A defensive struggle ensued following the opening jump ball with the first point coming at the 6:51 mark as Domonique Davis connected on a free throw, the first of her 21-point performance.
Cornfield drained the first of two threes on the afternoon from way outside the arc on a true buzzer beater to extend Southern Miss' lead to 4-1.
The opening frame ended 9-7, with the Lady Eagles leading.
Long Beach State (5-4, 0-0 Big West) tied things up two minutes into the second quarter and took the lead on the next possession. The Beach would lead by as many as seven points in the contest.
At the halftime buzzer, the Beach led the Black & Gold 26-20 as the team entered the locker rooms. True to form, Southern Miss came out with their hair on fire, besting the Beach in third quarter 14-13 and closing out the game in the fourth with a 22-11 margin.
LBSU held on to the lead the entirety of the third frame, but Southern Miss chipped away at the Beach's defense as Grayson scored two late baskets to close the quarter down 39-34.
A technical foul drawn by Grayson and two free throws from Cornfield made it a three-point game. Cornfield's two makes at the line were crucial in completing the comeback as Bracey connected on a layup to tie things at 40 apiece with 5:32 left in the contest.
Watkins made one of two attempts at the charity stripe to take lead for good. Davis' eight fourth quarter points paced both teams.
The 36-point fourth quarter line completed the Lady Eagles first true road win of the year and second at the Long Beach Classic.
Domonique Davis collected All-Tournament Team Honors as well as MVP Honors.
Up Next
Southern Miss enjoys the holidays after an impressive finish to nonconference play before opening Sun Belt play at Troy on Thursday, Dec. 29. Southern Miss' next appearance at Reed Green Coliseum comes on Thursday, Jan .5 against Louisiana.
Team Stats
USM
LBSU
FG%
.364
.358
3FG%
.231
.200
FT%
.684
.727
RB
41
31
TO
16
15
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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