Sun Belt Releases 2022-23 Women's Basketball Conference Schedule

New Orleans – The Sun Belt Conference announced the 2022-23 women's basketball conference schedule, laying out the Southern Miss Lady Eagles' inaugural season in the conference.

"We are working every day to prepare for a very good Sun Belt Conference slate," said 19th-year Lady Eagle head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "Right now, it seems like we have plenty of time before conference but as we know, time flies. The Sun Belt consists of great coaches and a balanced field of women's basketball. Our opener against Troy and Chanda Rigby will be especially difficult with how successful they have been. Other teams in the league have brought in great recruiting classes, so who knows what will happen when we tip off in January. Either way, we respect all of our new Sun Belt members and are hopeful to have a year of play without interruption from COVID-19. I also hope that everyone stays healthy all season."

Lee-McNelis and the Lady Eagles open Sun Belt play on Thursday, Dec. 29 against the best the Sun Belt has to offer in the reigning regular-season champion Troy Trojans. Southern Miss travels to Troy for the first time since Jan. 5, 1983—when Joye Lee-McNelis was a Junior for Kay James' Lady Eagles. Southern Miss is undefeated against the Trojans, last playing in 2003, and sports a 3-0 record. The matchup will Lee-McNelis' first time facing the Trojans as head coach of the Lady Eagles.

The Trojans claimed last season's Sun Belt Championship and the No. 1 spot in the Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. Troy came up short against UT-Arlington in the tournament championship and earned a spot in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The cardinal-clad Trojans hosted in-state foe Alabama in the first round, falling the Crimson Tide's final possession.

Southern Miss celebrates the end of 2022 in the Azalea City of Mobile, Ala. in the final contest of the calendar year on New Years' Eve. Just before the Moon Pie drops downtown, the Lady Eagles and Jaguars tip off at South Alabama's Mitchell Center. The Jaguars are the most familiar Sun Belt foe to Southern Miss as the game marks the 35th meeting of the two programs, dating back to the Lady Eagles' inaugural 1975-76 season. Southern Miss is 21-13 all-time against South Alabama and 8-8 under Lee-McNelis. The Black & Gold is on a two-game win streak over the Jags after emerging victorious on Dec. 5, 2021.

After ringing in the new year, the Lady Eagles travel back to the friendly confines of Reed Green Coliseum for a four-game conference home stand. The two-week stretch opens against Louisiana on Jan. 5. Louisiana finished as the Sun Belt's third-best team of 2021-22 with a 9-4 SBC record and 18-7 overall record. Southern Miss is 13-3 against the Ragin' Cajuns and 2-0 under Lee-McNelis. The two squads first faced off on Dec. 16, 1976, playing regularly through the 1980s and -90s. After two decades, the series resumed in 2010 and then in 2016, the last time the two teams played.

In the first weekend action of 2023, Southern Miss welcomes fellow Sun Belt new member James Madison, formerly of the Colonial Athletic Association, on Saturday, Jan. 7. The Dukes finished 14-15 last season and 10-8 in CAA play but was ineligible for the postseason due to their impending move to the Sun Belt. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, JMU sported 16-consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins.

Southern Miss and James Madison have never played one another, and most notably, the game will be James Madison's first regular season game within the state of Mississippi.

On Thursday, Jan. 12, the Lady Eagles welcome Arkansas State to the Hub City for the first time since 1999. The two teams last played on Dec. 3, 2000, and are tied, with each winning two games from 1982-2000. The Red Wolves finished eighth overall in Sun Belt in 2021-22 and 12-16 overall.

The four-game Hattiesburg stand ends on Saturday, Jan. 14 against ULM. In the 24 games between the two programs, Southern Miss has won 16 and is 4-5 under Lee-McNelis, who was 5-0 against ULM as a player. Last year, the two teams met in Hattiesburg, with the Lady Eagles grabbing a 77-60 win over the Warhawks. ULM finished the year 4-25 and winless in Sun Belt play.

After spending two weeks at home, the Lady Eagles reverse course and spend four games away from the 'Burg from Thursday, Jan. 19 to Saturday, Jan. 28.

The road slate begins in the mountains of Boone, N.C., on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Appalachian State's Holmes Convocation Center. The Mountaineers finished last season 14-12 and 8-4 in Sun Belt play, fifth-best in the conference. The game will mark the first time in over 7,718 days (21 years, one month, three weeks and one day) that the two teams take the hardwood against one another. Southern Miss won the only meeting of the series 61-48 in 2001 at Reed Green Coliseum and has never played in Boone.

From one mountain town to another, the Lady Eagles take on Marshall on Saturday, Jan. 21. A fellow Sun Belt newcomer, Marshall and Southern Miss faced off numerous times in Conference USA play. Dating back to Jan. 22, 2006, Southern Miss is 16-11 against the Thundering Herd and 5-7 at the Cam Henderson Center. The game will be Southern Miss' first in Huntingdon since New Year's Day of 2022, when the Black & Gold fell 55-72.

The Lady Eagles close out the latter half of the four-game road tour on the western edges of the Sun Belt against Arkansas State and Texas State after spending the former half on the east.

Southern Miss makes its way to Jonesboro, Ark. for part two of the season series against Arkansas State on Thursday, Jan. 26. Southern Miss is 1-1 in Jonesboro, and the game will be Lee-McNelis' first on the Golden Eagle bench visiting the Red Wolves.

The travel stretch ends in San Marcos, Texas for a Saturday, Jan. 28 tip. The Lady Eagles have never faced the Bobcats, who finished 15-14 (9-6 Sun Belt) last season. Texas State advanced to the Sun Belt quarterfinals last year before falling to Louisiana.

After the Lone Star State clash, Southern Miss enjoys another four-game span in Hattiesburg. The stretch begins on Thursday, Feb. 2 against Old Dominion, the last of the three schools making Sun Belt debuts alongside Southern Miss.

The Monarchs were 24-10 last season, and their 12-6 C-USA record was third-best in the C-USA East Division. While losing in the C-USA quarterfinals to North Texas, the squad was selected for the WNIT, advancing to the second round after downing Towson, eventually falling to Columbia in Norfolk, Va. Southern Miss has seen ODU on the opposing bench nine times, all since 2014, and five times at Reed Green Coliseum, where Southern Miss trails 2-3 all-time. The Monarchs will return to Hattiesburg for the first time since 2019 and boast a three-game winning streak over the Lady Eagles.

Southern Miss hosts the South Alabama Jaguars in the second game of the year on Saturday, Feb. 9 before playing Texas State for the second time in as many weeks on Thursday, Feb. 9. The Lady Eagles boast a 13-4 record over the Jaguars in Reed Green Coliseum, taking the last match on Dec. 15, 2019, and are 5-3 in Hattiesburg under Lee-McNelis.

On Saturday, Feb. 11, the Lady Eagles host the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, marking the first matchup against the Chants in program history. CCU is coming off a ninth-place Sun Belt finish and a 15-11 (4-9) season that ended with a loss to Troy in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament.

Southern Miss embarks on its last two-game road stretch with a Thursday, Feb. 16 match in the capital city of the Peach State, Atlanta, Ga. The Lady Eagles take on the home-standing Georgia State Panthers in their new GSU Convocation Center after playing last year's game in the GSU Sports Arena. Southern Miss is 3-2 all-time against Georgia State and 1-0 under Lee-McNelis. The Panthers concluded last year with a conference tournament loss to Georgia Southern, finishing 10-16 and 4-9 in Sun Belt play.

After a day off, the Lady Eagles return to play in Monroe, La. against ULM on Saturday, Feb. 18. In Fant-Ewing Coliseum, Southern Miss is 5-7 and will be making its first return to Monroe since Nov. 11, 2019.

The Lady Eagles' home slate comes to a close on Wednesday, Feb. 22 against Troy. Southern Miss looks to defend its unblemished 2-0 home record as the Trojans take the court in Hattiesburg for the first time since 2003.

Southern Miss spends the regular season finale in Lafayette, La. for a Friday, Feb. 24 tilt against Louisiana. The Lady Eagles are 3-3 against UL in Lafayette and 2-1 in the Cajundome, last tipping off there in 1999. The game will be Lee-McNelis' first in black and gold since Jan. 17, 1984, when the senior guard took on the Warhawks in a 68-89 losing effort.

With the regular season complete, the Lady Eagles look towards the Sun Belt Conference tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla, spanning from Tuesday, Feb. 28 to Monday, March 6.

The action-packed conference slate consists of 18 games, split evenly between home and road matches. The Lady Eagles will play each team, except for Georgia Southern. The schedule consists of three road games within a four-hour drive of Hattiesburg (South Alabama, ULM and Louisiana) and four institutions (South Alabama, Troy, ULM, Louisiana) with campuses within 300 miles in which Southern Miss will play a total of eight games.

Read the Sun Belt Conference release here: Link

Ticket Information
Season tickets for the 2022-23 season can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or 601-266-5418, as well as visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office (2907 West 4th Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401) on weekdays during normal business hours.

www.SouthernMiss.com | @SouthernMissWBB | @southernmisswbb | /SouthernMissWBB

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Sun Belt Releases 2022-23 Women's Basketball Conference Schedule

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