Wednesday, December 20
Fort Myers, Fla. / Alico Arena
3:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. ET
Southern Miss
vs
Cleveland State
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Prepped for Two Tough Battles at the Homewood Suites Classic
12/19/2023 1:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball returns to action for the two-day Homewood Suites Classic where the Lady Eagles will face off against two of the country's best mid-major programs in Cleveland State and Florida Gulf Coast. Game one against Cleveland State is set for Wednesday, Dec. 20, with a 3:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. ET) tipoff in Fort Myers, Fla.
Game Nine | Southern Miss (7-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Cleveland State (9-2, 2-0 Horizon)
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023 | 3:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: NONE | Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM)
Alico Arena (4,333) | Fort Myers, Fla.
Game 10 | Southern Miss at Florida Gulf Coast
Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2023 | 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM)
Alico Arena (4,333) | Fort Myers, Fla.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call from courtside in Alico Arena with the Lady Eagle Basketball Pregame Show beginning at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). Hear from the Lady Eagles' head coach in the Joye Lee-McNelis Pregame Report during the show as Baker previews the day's matchups.
Wednesday's game against Cleveland State will not be streamed by Florida Gulf Coast's broadcast team.
Thursday's game will have Kelly Burke and Cindy Stein providing play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, on an FGCU-produced ESPN+ broadcast.
LAST TIME OUT
Southern Miss (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season at Memphis in a heartbreaking 69-67 loss to the Tigers. It was Southern Miss' and McNelis' first time back in the Bluff City since 2013 and the Tigers' hometown crowd came ready.
Despite Domonique Davis' game-leading 25-point performance, Southern Miss ultimately could not overcome the Tigers' timely shooting on their home court. Memphis shot 10-of-26 from beyond the arc compared to Southern Miss' 2-of-10 performance from distance. The Lady Eagles did beat out the Tigers on the charity stripe, hitting 17 compared to Memphis' seven.
Davis (DeRidder, La.) was joined in double-figure scoring by Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) but four Tigers finished with double figures—the most since Arkansas State placed five in double figures at the Sun Belt Tournament last season.
KEY STORYLINES
Southern Miss suffered its first loss of the season at Memphis, spoiling a 7-0 start to the season. The 7-0 start is the best under a McNelis-lead team and trails only the 2003-04 team's 10-0 start to the year.
Davis continues her climb to the top of the Lady Eagle career charts. She now has 1,121 points as a Lady Eagle – 21st in program history. She has also put up 20 points or more in 24 games of her career and four times this season.
In season tournaments, Southern Miss is 91-50 since their first tournament in 1977, the Blue Mountain Tournament in Blue Mountain, Miss., hosted by Blue Mountain Christian College. The Lady Eagles played Middle Tennessee and Florida.
Southern Miss' trip to Fort Myers also brings some of the country's best coaching talent as well as top mid-major players. The three head coaches of Southern Miss, Cleveland State and Florida Gulf Coast hold a total of 1,716 wins between them, led by Florida Gulf Coast's Karl Smesko' 650, followed by McNelis' 545 and finished off by Cleveland State's Chris Kielsmeier's 521. No other tournament in the country this season has featured three 500-win coaches.
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
The Vikings (9-2, 2-0 Horizon League) are one of the nation's best mid-major programs, sitting at eighth in the most-recent mid-major poll (a new poll will be released on Tuesday afternoon after this release's posting).
Head coach Chris Kielsmeier is in his sixth season in Cleveland with a 105-56 overall record at the helm of the Vikings. He is 521-172 including his Division II and III records as well in 24 seasons of coaching.
Cleveland State's best player, Destiny Leo, is out for the remainder of the season, so other players have stepped up to fill the scoring gap and done so very well. Colbi Maples and Mickayla Perdue are both averaging double-figures with 16.5 and 13.2 points per game with Perdue taking Leo's spot in the starting five.
The team does very well from behind the arc, hitting on 37.4 percent of their attempts from behind the arc, ranking 24th in Division I.
SCOUTING FLORIDA GULF COAST
Florida Gulf Coast (7-4, 0-0 ASUN) has revolutionized the three pointer in the past decade. The program started in 1997 and joined Division I as a full member in 2011 truly lives by its motto 'Raining3s'. The Eagles are 28th in the country in made threes with 8.8 makes per game and seventh in attempts 28.9. FGCU's behind-the-arc prowess has translated in to wins as the team has won no less than 25 games every year since 2010-11 and has won 30 games six of the last eight seasons.
Three Eagle starters average double figures, led by Uju Ezeudu's 13.0 and trailed by Maddie Antenucci (12.1) and Dolly Cairns (10.3). The team has already made 97 threes on the year, hitting at least five in all but one and 10 or more on five occasions.
Game Nine | Southern Miss (7-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Cleveland State (9-2, 2-0 Horizon)
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023 | 3:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: NONE | Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM)
Alico Arena (4,333) | Fort Myers, Fla.
Game 10 | Southern Miss at Florida Gulf Coast
Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2023 | 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM)
Alico Arena (4,333) | Fort Myers, Fla.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, will be on the call from courtside in Alico Arena with the Lady Eagle Basketball Pregame Show beginning at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). Hear from the Lady Eagles' head coach in the Joye Lee-McNelis Pregame Report during the show as Baker previews the day's matchups.
Wednesday's game against Cleveland State will not be streamed by Florida Gulf Coast's broadcast team.
Thursday's game will have Kelly Burke and Cindy Stein providing play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, on an FGCU-produced ESPN+ broadcast.
LAST TIME OUT
Southern Miss (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season at Memphis in a heartbreaking 69-67 loss to the Tigers. It was Southern Miss' and McNelis' first time back in the Bluff City since 2013 and the Tigers' hometown crowd came ready.
Despite Domonique Davis' game-leading 25-point performance, Southern Miss ultimately could not overcome the Tigers' timely shooting on their home court. Memphis shot 10-of-26 from beyond the arc compared to Southern Miss' 2-of-10 performance from distance. The Lady Eagles did beat out the Tigers on the charity stripe, hitting 17 compared to Memphis' seven.
Davis (DeRidder, La.) was joined in double-figure scoring by Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) but four Tigers finished with double figures—the most since Arkansas State placed five in double figures at the Sun Belt Tournament last season.
KEY STORYLINES
Southern Miss suffered its first loss of the season at Memphis, spoiling a 7-0 start to the season. The 7-0 start is the best under a McNelis-lead team and trails only the 2003-04 team's 10-0 start to the year.
Davis continues her climb to the top of the Lady Eagle career charts. She now has 1,121 points as a Lady Eagle – 21st in program history. She has also put up 20 points or more in 24 games of her career and four times this season.
In season tournaments, Southern Miss is 91-50 since their first tournament in 1977, the Blue Mountain Tournament in Blue Mountain, Miss., hosted by Blue Mountain Christian College. The Lady Eagles played Middle Tennessee and Florida.
Southern Miss' trip to Fort Myers also brings some of the country's best coaching talent as well as top mid-major players. The three head coaches of Southern Miss, Cleveland State and Florida Gulf Coast hold a total of 1,716 wins between them, led by Florida Gulf Coast's Karl Smesko' 650, followed by McNelis' 545 and finished off by Cleveland State's Chris Kielsmeier's 521. No other tournament in the country this season has featured three 500-win coaches.
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
The Vikings (9-2, 2-0 Horizon League) are one of the nation's best mid-major programs, sitting at eighth in the most-recent mid-major poll (a new poll will be released on Tuesday afternoon after this release's posting).
Head coach Chris Kielsmeier is in his sixth season in Cleveland with a 105-56 overall record at the helm of the Vikings. He is 521-172 including his Division II and III records as well in 24 seasons of coaching.
Cleveland State's best player, Destiny Leo, is out for the remainder of the season, so other players have stepped up to fill the scoring gap and done so very well. Colbi Maples and Mickayla Perdue are both averaging double-figures with 16.5 and 13.2 points per game with Perdue taking Leo's spot in the starting five.
The team does very well from behind the arc, hitting on 37.4 percent of their attempts from behind the arc, ranking 24th in Division I.
SCOUTING FLORIDA GULF COAST
Florida Gulf Coast (7-4, 0-0 ASUN) has revolutionized the three pointer in the past decade. The program started in 1997 and joined Division I as a full member in 2011 truly lives by its motto 'Raining3s'. The Eagles are 28th in the country in made threes with 8.8 makes per game and seventh in attempts 28.9. FGCU's behind-the-arc prowess has translated in to wins as the team has won no less than 25 games every year since 2010-11 and has won 30 games six of the last eight seasons.
Three Eagle starters average double figures, led by Uju Ezeudu's 13.0 and trailed by Maddie Antenucci (12.1) and Dolly Cairns (10.3). The team has already made 97 threes on the year, hitting at least five in all but one and 10 or more on five occasions.
– #McNelisStrong –
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
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