Monday, November 6
Reed Green Coliseum
11 a.m.
Southern Miss
1-0,0-0Sun Belt
88
vs
46
William Carey
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
William Carey
13
12
10
11
46
Southern Miss.
30
25
22
11
88
Davis Eclipses 1,000, Leads Lady Eagles to Season-Opening Win
11/6/2023 2:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss – Domonique Davis scored her 1,000th career point on free throw to give Southern Miss women's basketball the lead over William Carey. The Lady Eagles held on to the lead for the next 39 minutes, racing out to a 88-46 win over the crosstown Lady Crusaders in front of the 11th-largest crowd in program history.
"With so many newcomers, you never know what's going to happen when there are butts in seats and the real stripes come on—you don't know how they're going to handle it at all." said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "That was one of the best first halves that we've had in some time, even with our starting five starting the game with a turnover. Once we settled in, that group did a great job, as did our subs off the bench. We've got a lot of depth that will allow us to do a lot of different things. William Carey played hard—they lost a lot of players from last year's team to graduation, but I'll tell you, they're going to be really really good."
Year 20 of the McNelis era got off to a slightly slow start as the Lady Eagles (1-0) turned the ball over on their first possession; however, Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) connected on a free throw 56 seconds in to take the final lead of the game, pushing her to 1,000 career points. She sits at 980 points at Southern Miss alone. Over the next 39 minutes and four seconds, Southern Miss never looked back, immediately putting up a seven-point run over William Carey (3-0).
Led by Davis' 23, three Lady Eagles finished with double-figure scoring, including: Davis, Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.). In total, 10 Lady Eagles checked in in the points column as Southern Miss scored its most points in a game since last season's home finale against Troy.
As part of Education Day, 3,566 elementary and middle school students joined the Lady Eagle faithful to mark the 11th-best attended game in program history. The crowd—combined with Southern Miss' defensive performance—helped keep the Crusaders' field goal percentage low throughout the game, finishing the game with 32.7 percent.
If the 30-point halftime lead was not enough, the Lady Eagles closed out the game in the third quarter with an 18-point run. Freshman Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) made her first career start, becoming the 17th Lady Eagle true freshman to start in her first career game. She finished the day with nine points and six rebounds, leading the team in boards.
Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) made her return to regular season action for the first time in 606 days after starting and putting up six points, two boards, two assists and one steal. Gray looks to be an integral piece of the Lady Eagles' attack and defense this season.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss returns to play this Saturday, Nov. 11, at Reed Green Coliseum for the inaugural game of the MAC-SBC Challenge against Akron. Tipoff against the Zips is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Will Kollmeyer and Larry Boyd on the call as well as broadcast on 92.7 FM in Hattiesburg with the Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, and former Lady Eagle head coach Kay James on the call.
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday and for the remainder of the home season by going to SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Southern Miss Ticket Office in the Pat Ferlise Center on the Southern Miss campus during normal business hours.
"With so many newcomers, you never know what's going to happen when there are butts in seats and the real stripes come on—you don't know how they're going to handle it at all." said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "That was one of the best first halves that we've had in some time, even with our starting five starting the game with a turnover. Once we settled in, that group did a great job, as did our subs off the bench. We've got a lot of depth that will allow us to do a lot of different things. William Carey played hard—they lost a lot of players from last year's team to graduation, but I'll tell you, they're going to be really really good."
Year 20 of the McNelis era got off to a slightly slow start as the Lady Eagles (1-0) turned the ball over on their first possession; however, Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) connected on a free throw 56 seconds in to take the final lead of the game, pushing her to 1,000 career points. She sits at 980 points at Southern Miss alone. Over the next 39 minutes and four seconds, Southern Miss never looked back, immediately putting up a seven-point run over William Carey (3-0).
Led by Davis' 23, three Lady Eagles finished with double-figure scoring, including: Davis, Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.). In total, 10 Lady Eagles checked in in the points column as Southern Miss scored its most points in a game since last season's home finale against Troy.
As part of Education Day, 3,566 elementary and middle school students joined the Lady Eagle faithful to mark the 11th-best attended game in program history. The crowd—combined with Southern Miss' defensive performance—helped keep the Crusaders' field goal percentage low throughout the game, finishing the game with 32.7 percent.
If the 30-point halftime lead was not enough, the Lady Eagles closed out the game in the third quarter with an 18-point run. Freshman Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) made her first career start, becoming the 17th Lady Eagle true freshman to start in her first career game. She finished the day with nine points and six rebounds, leading the team in boards.
Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) made her return to regular season action for the first time in 606 days after starting and putting up six points, two boards, two assists and one steal. Gray looks to be an integral piece of the Lady Eagles' attack and defense this season.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss returns to play this Saturday, Nov. 11, at Reed Green Coliseum for the inaugural game of the MAC-SBC Challenge against Akron. Tipoff against the Zips is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Will Kollmeyer and Larry Boyd on the call as well as broadcast on 92.7 FM in Hattiesburg with the Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, and former Lady Eagle head coach Kay James on the call.
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday and for the remainder of the home season by going to SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Southern Miss Ticket Office in the Pat Ferlise Center on the Southern Miss campus during normal business hours.
– #McNelisStrong –
Team Stats
WC
USM
FG%
.327
.516
3FG%
.250
.391
FT%
.500
.929
RB
25
45
TO
22
18
STL
6
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
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