Wednesday, February 22
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
19-9,12-5Sun Belt
88
vs
79
Troy
17-11,12-5Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Troy
14
23
22
20
79
Southern Miss.
18
20
25
25
88
Lady Eagles Dump Troy in Senior Day Finale
2/22/2023 10:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball completes the regular season sweep over Troy in an 88-79 victory over Troy. Three Lady Eagles all finished in double-figures as the Lady Eagles moved to 19-9 overall and 12-5 in Sun Belt play.
The wins mark the most overall since 2016-17 in both categories when the Lady Eagles finished 23-11 overall and 13-5 in conference play.
"That is our most complete game to date," said Joye Lee-McNelis, head coach of the Lady Eagles. "We were able to play the game we wanted to play it for the majority of the game and it showed. Troy is a tremendous team with great coaches, but I never felt like we played their way tonight. I'm excited that we've come together like this now but we're focusing on Louisiana now."
Tale of the Tape
Southern Miss (19-9, 12-5 Sun Belt) beat Troy at their own game, outpacing the high-powered Trojan offense for 88 points for the first time in two seasons. Troy, which fell to 17-11 overall and 12-5 in Sun Belt play, averaged 81.1 points per game and owned a scoring margin of +6.6 on the season and in conference play.
Most impressively, Southern Miss outrebounded the best rebounding team in the country. Troy still managed 46 rebounds—split evenly on the offensive and defensive glass—but the Lady Eagles pulled down 47, including 12 offensive.
Troy opened the game on a 4-0 run over the first two minutes as both teams failed to find their footing on the court. Southern Miss broke through at the 6:41 mark thanks to a Melyia Grayson second-chance jumper.
The Hattiesburg, Miss. native led all scorers on the evening with 23 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Grayson could not be stopped in the first half, going 7-of-8 from the floor and scoring six in a row midway through the first quarter.
Troy managed to make a 10-0 run in second quarter, going from 26-18 down to leading 28-26 before Coach McNelis called a timeout to break the run. At the half, Southern Miss clung to a slim 38-37 lead.
The difference in the first half came down to volume. Troy finished 15-of-42 compared to Southern Miss' 14-of-29, a 12.6 percent difference between the two squads.
Southern Miss won the third quarter once again, 25-22, to lead the Trojans by four heading into the final 10 minutes. Five Lady Eagles scored baskets in the frame to hold Troy's comeback efforts at bay.
The Lady Eagles jumped on Troy in the fourth, pushing the lead to seven before a Troy timeout with 7:07 left in the game. Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) drilled a fast break bucket off an assist from Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) to move the lead to nine in the Lady Eagles favor.
The margin would hover around that mark for the rest of the game as Southern Miss never surrendered the lead in the fourth. Cornfield finished the day with 16 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter, on 5-of-5 shooting and a 6-of-9 performance at the line.
Warren also enjoyed the day with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-6 from three, along with three assists.
Domonique Davis dropped 16 points thanks in large part to a 9-of-10 day at the line. The junior from DeRidder, La. had nine rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles and grabbed three steals and dished seven helpers.
After the game, Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) received a standing ovation as the Lady Eagles' only senior. Gross, joined by her family and friends, watched a prepared video and message from the team at half court to celebrate her legacy in the Black & Gold.
The Lady Eagles survive and advance in the Sun Belt Conference standings and now find themselves in a four-way tie for second place. After tiebreakers are accounted for, the Lady Eagles sit at fifth place and need a win on Friday for a chance to clinch a top-four berth.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to the bayou of Lafayette, La. for a Friday night showdown against Louisiana. Tipoff from the Cajundome is set for 5 p.m. as the two teams face off for the first time since Jacorriah Bracey led the Lady Eagles to a 44-43 win over the Ragin' Cajuns in Reed Green Coliseum.
The wins mark the most overall since 2016-17 in both categories when the Lady Eagles finished 23-11 overall and 13-5 in conference play.
"That is our most complete game to date," said Joye Lee-McNelis, head coach of the Lady Eagles. "We were able to play the game we wanted to play it for the majority of the game and it showed. Troy is a tremendous team with great coaches, but I never felt like we played their way tonight. I'm excited that we've come together like this now but we're focusing on Louisiana now."
Tale of the Tape
Southern Miss (19-9, 12-5 Sun Belt) beat Troy at their own game, outpacing the high-powered Trojan offense for 88 points for the first time in two seasons. Troy, which fell to 17-11 overall and 12-5 in Sun Belt play, averaged 81.1 points per game and owned a scoring margin of +6.6 on the season and in conference play.
Most impressively, Southern Miss outrebounded the best rebounding team in the country. Troy still managed 46 rebounds—split evenly on the offensive and defensive glass—but the Lady Eagles pulled down 47, including 12 offensive.
Troy opened the game on a 4-0 run over the first two minutes as both teams failed to find their footing on the court. Southern Miss broke through at the 6:41 mark thanks to a Melyia Grayson second-chance jumper.
The Hattiesburg, Miss. native led all scorers on the evening with 23 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Grayson could not be stopped in the first half, going 7-of-8 from the floor and scoring six in a row midway through the first quarter.
Troy managed to make a 10-0 run in second quarter, going from 26-18 down to leading 28-26 before Coach McNelis called a timeout to break the run. At the half, Southern Miss clung to a slim 38-37 lead.
The difference in the first half came down to volume. Troy finished 15-of-42 compared to Southern Miss' 14-of-29, a 12.6 percent difference between the two squads.
Southern Miss won the third quarter once again, 25-22, to lead the Trojans by four heading into the final 10 minutes. Five Lady Eagles scored baskets in the frame to hold Troy's comeback efforts at bay.
The Lady Eagles jumped on Troy in the fourth, pushing the lead to seven before a Troy timeout with 7:07 left in the game. Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) drilled a fast break bucket off an assist from Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) to move the lead to nine in the Lady Eagles favor.
The margin would hover around that mark for the rest of the game as Southern Miss never surrendered the lead in the fourth. Cornfield finished the day with 16 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter, on 5-of-5 shooting and a 6-of-9 performance at the line.
Warren also enjoyed the day with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-6 from three, along with three assists.
Domonique Davis dropped 16 points thanks in large part to a 9-of-10 day at the line. The junior from DeRidder, La. had nine rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles and grabbed three steals and dished seven helpers.
After the game, Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) received a standing ovation as the Lady Eagles' only senior. Gross, joined by her family and friends, watched a prepared video and message from the team at half court to celebrate her legacy in the Black & Gold.
The Lady Eagles survive and advance in the Sun Belt Conference standings and now find themselves in a four-way tie for second place. After tiebreakers are accounted for, the Lady Eagles sit at fifth place and need a win on Friday for a chance to clinch a top-four berth.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to the bayou of Lafayette, La. for a Friday night showdown against Louisiana. Tipoff from the Cajundome is set for 5 p.m. as the two teams face off for the first time since Jacorriah Bracey led the Lady Eagles to a 44-43 win over the Ragin' Cajuns in Reed Green Coliseum.
Team Stats
TROY
USM
FG%
.349
.492
3FG%
.200
.167
FT%
.739
.813
RB
46
47
TO
11
18
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballCenter
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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