Thursday, December 29
Troy, Ala. / Trojan Arena
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
8-4,1-0Sun Belt
77
at
75
Troy
5-7,0-1Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
11
27
20
19
77
Troy
17
19
27
12
75
Southern Miss Opens Sun Belt Play with Thrilling 77-75 Win Over Troy
12/29/2022 9:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TROY, Ala. – Southern Miss wins a thriller over reigning Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in a 77-75 shootout. The Lady Eagles spoiled Troy's title defense and ended their Sun Belt debut victorious.
"Credit to Troy, they are a really really really good team and tonight they shot the ball unbelievably well," said Lady Eagle leader Joye Lee-McNelis. "They shot the ball extremely well and had a lot things go right for them. When we were down by nine in the fourth, I told the team we can do two things: fight or roll over. We hadn't played poorly or had turnovers, we just fell behind and I was so proud of the way we played with a lot of resilience. Femi did a great phenomenal job of stepping up with Melyia on the bench. She did a truly phenomenal job on the glass; she earned that double-double.
Four Lady Eagles finished in double-digit scoring as Southern Miss (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) downed Troy (5-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) in the game of the year for the Black & Gold. In a tale of two styles, Southern Miss outscored the Trojans 46-16 in the paint, the largest margin of the season for the Lady Eagles.
Tale of the Tape
Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 22 points on just 6-of-19 shooting and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. However, Davis shined at the charity stripe, posting a 7-of-8 performance at the line—the most makes and attempts of any player in the game.
Femi Funeus (Plantation, Fla. // Seton Hall) collected her first double-double of her career with a 16-point, 11-rebound performance, both marks are season highs.
Southern Miss found themselves down 17-11 at the end of the first quarter but rode a 27-point second frame and impressive defense to take a 38-36 at the half. Troy finished the quarter 7-of-22 from the floor but had a stretch of 11-straight misses to give Southern Miss the lead.
Troy returned the favor in the third quarter, retaking the lead early in the period and holding on to 63-58 lead as the fourth quarter loomed. Davis and Funeus held Southern Miss within an arm's reach thanks to Davis' 10 points and Funeus six points and five boards.
The fourth quarter plodded along as Southern Miss inched its way back into the contest. Trailing by as many as nine, the Lady Eagles made it a one possession game with 2:43 left in the contest after a Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) second-chance layup.
Grayson finished the evening with 12 points on an efficient 5-of-7 performance after getting in foul trouble early.
Junior guard from Puckett, Miss., Rose Warren, heaved up a prayer after grabbing an offensive rebound, connected with 1:44 seconds left in the game. Troy called a timeout, eventually converting 1-of-2 free throws to take their last lead of the day, 75-74.
Funeus, after getting fouled on a second-chance attempt, converted two massive free throws to tie and then take the lead with 31 seconds left in the game.
Grayson then made one of her two free throws with seven seconds remaining to make it a two-point game.
With an astonishing 0.7 seconds left in the game, Troy's leading scorer, Nia Daniel, drew a foul inside the arc, earning two free throws down two.
The trip to the line proved to be a trojan horse as Daniel failed to make the first attempt and a Trojan lane violation wiped away the second. A timeout from Coach McNelis and quick inbound ticked off the final seven-tenths and Southern Miss completed its upset of the reigning Sun Belt champs.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads south, taking on South Alabama (4-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from Mobile.
"Credit to Troy, they are a really really really good team and tonight they shot the ball unbelievably well," said Lady Eagle leader Joye Lee-McNelis. "They shot the ball extremely well and had a lot things go right for them. When we were down by nine in the fourth, I told the team we can do two things: fight or roll over. We hadn't played poorly or had turnovers, we just fell behind and I was so proud of the way we played with a lot of resilience. Femi did a great phenomenal job of stepping up with Melyia on the bench. She did a truly phenomenal job on the glass; she earned that double-double.
Four Lady Eagles finished in double-digit scoring as Southern Miss (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) downed Troy (5-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) in the game of the year for the Black & Gold. In a tale of two styles, Southern Miss outscored the Trojans 46-16 in the paint, the largest margin of the season for the Lady Eagles.
Tale of the Tape
Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 22 points on just 6-of-19 shooting and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. However, Davis shined at the charity stripe, posting a 7-of-8 performance at the line—the most makes and attempts of any player in the game.
Femi Funeus (Plantation, Fla. // Seton Hall) collected her first double-double of her career with a 16-point, 11-rebound performance, both marks are season highs.
Southern Miss found themselves down 17-11 at the end of the first quarter but rode a 27-point second frame and impressive defense to take a 38-36 at the half. Troy finished the quarter 7-of-22 from the floor but had a stretch of 11-straight misses to give Southern Miss the lead.
Troy returned the favor in the third quarter, retaking the lead early in the period and holding on to 63-58 lead as the fourth quarter loomed. Davis and Funeus held Southern Miss within an arm's reach thanks to Davis' 10 points and Funeus six points and five boards.
The fourth quarter plodded along as Southern Miss inched its way back into the contest. Trailing by as many as nine, the Lady Eagles made it a one possession game with 2:43 left in the contest after a Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) second-chance layup.
Grayson finished the evening with 12 points on an efficient 5-of-7 performance after getting in foul trouble early.
Junior guard from Puckett, Miss., Rose Warren, heaved up a prayer after grabbing an offensive rebound, connected with 1:44 seconds left in the game. Troy called a timeout, eventually converting 1-of-2 free throws to take their last lead of the day, 75-74.
Funeus, after getting fouled on a second-chance attempt, converted two massive free throws to tie and then take the lead with 31 seconds left in the game.
Grayson then made one of her two free throws with seven seconds remaining to make it a two-point game.
With an astonishing 0.7 seconds left in the game, Troy's leading scorer, Nia Daniel, drew a foul inside the arc, earning two free throws down two.
The trip to the line proved to be a trojan horse as Daniel failed to make the first attempt and a Trojan lane violation wiped away the second. A timeout from Coach McNelis and quick inbound ticked off the final seven-tenths and Southern Miss completed its upset of the reigning Sun Belt champs.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads south, taking on South Alabama (4-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from Mobile.
Team Stats
USM
TROY
FG%
.492
.377
3FG%
.357
.400
FT%
.667
.529
RB
40
44
TO
16
12
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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