Cleveland State Uses Strong Fourth Quarter to Push Past Southern Miss

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Cleveland State led for just 4:05 of game time, but made the absolute most of their fourth quarter, out-scoring Southern Miss 27-15 in the final frame to escape Alico Arena with a 70-63 win. The Lady Eagles placed three in double figures, led by Domonique Davis' 16 points.

Southern Miss falls to 7-2 on the year with the loss the Cleveland State (10-2). The Lady Eagles took the first lead of the game thanks to a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) three ball on the Black & Gold's first possession of the game. Southern Miss continued to pour it on, knocking down another eight baskets and two more threes, ultimately leading 21-12 after the first 10 minutes.

Neither team was able to break through in the scoring column in the second quarter until the 7:13 mark thanks to a Mahoganie Williams (Monroe, La.) layup in the paint. The Vikings cut the lead to within three, but Southern Miss held on to its lead, closing out the quarter to lead 34-28 at the half.

Cleveland State was held to just 29 percent from the floor (9-of-31) while Southern Miss connected on 14-of-33 baskets. The Lady Eagles also outshot the hot-shooting Vikings from the arc, making four long balls compared to Cleveland State's three.

The third quarter presented the same back-and-forth scoring affair. Southern Miss was never able to put together a large enough run to close out the Vikings, leading by as many as seven and as few as one. Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) drilled a three-pointer to give Southern Miss a 48-43 lead at the end of the quarter. The bucket marked her 10th point of the day.

In the final frame of play, Southern Miss utilized Davis' free throw shot and acrobatic shot-making, along with a Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) layup to take an eight-point lead at three minutes into the quarter. However, Cleveland State broke through Southern Miss' lead with 4:35 left to play, tying the game with a free throw.

CSU's Mickayla Perdue drilled a deep ball to give Cleveland State its first lead of the day and the last lead change of the game. Perdue became the first Lady Eagle opposing player to notch 20 or more points this year. She finished with 24 points and was joined by three other Vikings in double figures.

The Vikings made one more basket for the rest of the game, using the charity stripe to slowly but surely close out the game. Cleveland State scored its last eight points of the day at the line and finished the game 18-of-25 on free throws and an impressive 11-of-13 in the second half.

Notably, Cleveland State grabbed 18 O-boards and 51 total rebounds—the most by a Southern Miss opponent in regulation since Jan. 8, 2014, when Louisiana Tech brought down 50.

UP NEXT
Sothern Miss returns to action tomorrow, Dec. 21, for the final game of the Homewood Suites Classic. The Lady Eagles take on the homestanding Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast, who entered the week with a 7-4 overall record and play Drexel tonight.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ by a Florida Gulf Coast production crew with Kelly Burke and Cindy Stein on the mic. Jason Baker, the Voice of the Lady Eagles, will be on the call from Alico Arena and can be heard on 92.7 FM in Hattiesburg and on the Southern Miss Gameday App.

Cleveland State Uses Strong Fourth Quarter to Push Past Southern Miss

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Team Stats

Domonique Davis

Melyia Grayson

Noelani Cornfield

Brikayla Gray

Players Mentioned

Domonique Davis

Melyia Grayson

Morgan Sieper

Mahoganie Williams