Saturday, December 31
Mobile, Ala. / Mitchell Center
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
at
South Alabama
Lady Eagles Set for New Year's Eve Showdown in Mobile
12/30/2022 6:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagle road tour continues to Mobile, Ala. for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday, Dec. 31, against Sun Belt foe South Alabama. Southern Miss enters the game riding a three-game winning streak.
Last Time Out
Southern Miss (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the new Sun Belt Conference after downing reigning champs and preseason-favorite Troy in their own gym.
Femi Funeus finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. Domonique Davis led Southern Miss' scoring efforts with 22 points of her own along with another five assists.
Rose Warren tied the game with 1:44 left in the game before Funeus connected on two free throws to give Southern Miss its final lead of the evening with 31 seconds left.
Noting the Lady Eagles
This week proves to be a test of both ends of Southern Miss' capabilities. Troy and South Alabama offer different attacks and defensive styles.
Southern Miss' trademark Nasty Bunch defense must have made it's way to the Lady Eagles' locker room as the Lady Eagles scoring defense continues to improve. McNelis' crew is seventh in defensive numbers in the Sun Belt and 142nd nationally.
Domonique Davis continues to provide the brightest shine on the floor for Southern Miss—and oftentimes both teams. Davis has finished with double-digit scoring in all 12 games of the season and eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times and the 30-point mark twice.
Picked fourth in the Sun Belt Coaches' Preseason Poll, the Lady Eagles proved to be worthy of all 137 votes they received after knocking off the preseason-favorite Troy Trojans.
The South Alabama Series
One of the longest-tenured series in Lady Eagle history, the seventh-most games played by any opponent with 34 games between the two dating back to the 1975-76 season.
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 21-13 and currently owns a two-game winning streak over the Jaguars. In Mobile, Southern Miss is 8-9 and 3-6 in the Mitchell Center.
Lady Eagle head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is 8-8 against South, playing all but two years since McNelis arrived in the Hub City.
Scouting South Alabama
South Alabama (4-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) is led by 11th-year head man Terry Fowler. Fowler's squad finished last season 2-10 in Sun Belt play and were picked 13th in the preseason poll this year.
True freshman Kelsey Thompson leads the Jags and all Sun Belt freshman with 9.5 points per game. Thompson also leads South in assists per game (2.3), total assists (25) and minutes per game (26.4).
Thompson is one of six newcomers to South Alabama's roster, joining nine Jaguar returners. Leading the returning production Nadia Howard, who averaged 8.3 points per game last year. South's three-leading scorers did not return to the Jags roster.
Follow Along
As always, the game can be heard on the Southern Miss Sports Network and on 92.7 FM in the Hattiesburg Area. The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call live from South Alabama's Mitchell Center.
The game can be streamed via ESPN+ with JD Byars providing play-by-play.
Last Time Out
Southern Miss (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the new Sun Belt Conference after downing reigning champs and preseason-favorite Troy in their own gym.
Femi Funeus finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. Domonique Davis led Southern Miss' scoring efforts with 22 points of her own along with another five assists.
Rose Warren tied the game with 1:44 left in the game before Funeus connected on two free throws to give Southern Miss its final lead of the evening with 31 seconds left.
Noting the Lady Eagles
This week proves to be a test of both ends of Southern Miss' capabilities. Troy and South Alabama offer different attacks and defensive styles.
Southern Miss' trademark Nasty Bunch defense must have made it's way to the Lady Eagles' locker room as the Lady Eagles scoring defense continues to improve. McNelis' crew is seventh in defensive numbers in the Sun Belt and 142nd nationally.
Domonique Davis continues to provide the brightest shine on the floor for Southern Miss—and oftentimes both teams. Davis has finished with double-digit scoring in all 12 games of the season and eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times and the 30-point mark twice.
Picked fourth in the Sun Belt Coaches' Preseason Poll, the Lady Eagles proved to be worthy of all 137 votes they received after knocking off the preseason-favorite Troy Trojans.
The South Alabama Series
One of the longest-tenured series in Lady Eagle history, the seventh-most games played by any opponent with 34 games between the two dating back to the 1975-76 season.
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 21-13 and currently owns a two-game winning streak over the Jaguars. In Mobile, Southern Miss is 8-9 and 3-6 in the Mitchell Center.
Lady Eagle head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is 8-8 against South, playing all but two years since McNelis arrived in the Hub City.
Scouting South Alabama
South Alabama (4-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) is led by 11th-year head man Terry Fowler. Fowler's squad finished last season 2-10 in Sun Belt play and were picked 13th in the preseason poll this year.
True freshman Kelsey Thompson leads the Jags and all Sun Belt freshman with 9.5 points per game. Thompson also leads South in assists per game (2.3), total assists (25) and minutes per game (26.4).
Thompson is one of six newcomers to South Alabama's roster, joining nine Jaguar returners. Leading the returning production Nadia Howard, who averaged 8.3 points per game last year. South's three-leading scorers did not return to the Jags roster.
Follow Along
As always, the game can be heard on the Southern Miss Sports Network and on 92.7 FM in the Hattiesburg Area. The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call live from South Alabama's Mitchell Center.
The game can be streamed via ESPN+ with JD Byars providing play-by-play.
Players Mentioned
Guard
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