Saturday, December 30
Reed Green Coliseum
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
7-4,0-1Sun Belt
72
vs
87
Marshall
7-5,1-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Marshall
18
22
21
26
87
Southern Miss.
20
18
15
19
72
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Marshall Shoots Past Southern Miss in Sun Belt Conference Opener
12/30/2023 5:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Marshall hit a season-high 13 three-point baskets and finished the day 13-of-29 from beyond the arc to defeat the Lady Eagles 87-72 at Reed Green Coliseum. Southern Miss falls to 0-1 in Sun Belt Conference play after its first home loss of the season.
"Marshall flew in here on that Learjet and they never looked back," said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "You've got to give credit where credit is due, they shot the ball extremely well, their full-court pressure gave in—particularly in the first half. We had 18 turnovers at the end of the day but 11 of them were in the first half. That's where everything happened. If you have half of those turnovers, you've got a much better lead. So, you've got to give them credit. They shot the ball well – extremely well – and they pressured us and forced us into turnovers."
The Lady Eagles (7-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) won the opening tip and eventually connected on the game's first basket at the 8:45 mark thanks to a Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) layup off an inbound pass. Davis finished the day with a game-best 29 points on a 12-of-26 shooting performance. Southern Miss would not surrender the lead until the 1:42 mark of the second quarter when Marshall (7-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) took its first and final lead of the day.
Marshall ran its way into the locker room up 40-38 thanks to a 22-point second frame. The Thundering Herd hit seven long balls in the first half at a 38.9 percent clip. Southern Miss did not hit its first and only three of the day until the fourth quarter, finishing the day 1-of-12 from behind the arc.
The Herd outscored Southern Miss in the second half 47-34 thanks to a 53.6 percent field goal percentage in the final 20. MU was able to dish out 12 of their 22 assists in the second half.
Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) collected her second double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 boards. Davis, Bracey and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) all finished with double-figures in the points column tallying 29, 10 and 15, respectively. Grayson's 15 points tied a season-high and Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.) also tied a season-high in assists with six. Bracey and her dozen rebounds are a career-best.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss hits the road for a two-game swing up the East Coast, beginning with a rare Wednesday conference game at Coastal Carolina. Tipoff against the Chanticleers is set for 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) on Jan. 3 from Conway, S.C. The Lady Eagles close out the road trip on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Old Dominion's Chartway Arena.
"Marshall flew in here on that Learjet and they never looked back," said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "You've got to give credit where credit is due, they shot the ball extremely well, their full-court pressure gave in—particularly in the first half. We had 18 turnovers at the end of the day but 11 of them were in the first half. That's where everything happened. If you have half of those turnovers, you've got a much better lead. So, you've got to give them credit. They shot the ball well – extremely well – and they pressured us and forced us into turnovers."
The Lady Eagles (7-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) won the opening tip and eventually connected on the game's first basket at the 8:45 mark thanks to a Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) layup off an inbound pass. Davis finished the day with a game-best 29 points on a 12-of-26 shooting performance. Southern Miss would not surrender the lead until the 1:42 mark of the second quarter when Marshall (7-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) took its first and final lead of the day.
Marshall ran its way into the locker room up 40-38 thanks to a 22-point second frame. The Thundering Herd hit seven long balls in the first half at a 38.9 percent clip. Southern Miss did not hit its first and only three of the day until the fourth quarter, finishing the day 1-of-12 from behind the arc.
The Herd outscored Southern Miss in the second half 47-34 thanks to a 53.6 percent field goal percentage in the final 20. MU was able to dish out 12 of their 22 assists in the second half.
Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) collected her second double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 boards. Davis, Bracey and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) all finished with double-figures in the points column tallying 29, 10 and 15, respectively. Grayson's 15 points tied a season-high and Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.) also tied a season-high in assists with six. Bracey and her dozen rebounds are a career-best.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss hits the road for a two-game swing up the East Coast, beginning with a rare Wednesday conference game at Coastal Carolina. Tipoff against the Chanticleers is set for 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) on Jan. 3 from Conway, S.C. The Lady Eagles close out the road trip on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Old Dominion's Chartway Arena.
– #McNelisStrong –
Team Stats
Marsh
USM
FG%
.470
.408
3FG%
.448
.083
FT%
.667
.529
RB
40
48
TO
18
17
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
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