Saturday, November 23
Paradise Island, The Bahamas / Imperial Arena
12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss
vs
Baylor
Southern Miss Opens Bad Boy Mowers Battle4Atlantis Against No. 18/17 Baylor
11/22/2024 4:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas – Southern Miss women's basketball plays the first of three games in as many days at the Imperial Arena tomorrow, Nov. 23, as a part of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle4Atlantis. The Lady Eagles take on the No. 18/17 Baylor Bears at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET) to begin tournament play.
Game Five // Southern Miss (2-2) vs. Baylor (3-1)
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 // 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET)
TV: FloCollege // Evan Stockton (PxP) and Lexi Ayala (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Maxwell Greenough (PxP)
Imperial Arena (3,500) // Paradise Island, The Bahamas
Starting Five
1) Southern Miss returns just five from last season's WNIT Super 16 squad, including four starters from the postseason run. In total, the Lady Eagles lost 55 percent of their scoring from last season and 44 percent of minutes played. Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) leads the group of five returners while riding a 59-game starting streak dating back to the 2022-23 season. Grayson is joined by fellow Mississippian Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) and sophomore sharpshooter Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) as the three Lady Eagles to start the majority of their games last year. Also returning is postseason point guard Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) and reserve guard Mikaylah Manley (Lake Charles, La.).
2) With just five returners, Southern Miss added eight newcomers in the offseason spread between high school signees, junior college transfers and one Sun Belt Conference veteran. Freshmen include Micah Cooper (Carrollton, Texas), Jaime Gallatly (Maffra, Australia), Whitney Hart (Baton Rouge, La.), Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) and Ava Shields (Hammond, La.). From the junior college ranks comes Je'Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) via Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Samantha Shanks (Webbers Falls, Okla.) from Connors State College. Former ULM Warhawk and Arkansas State Red Wolf Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) reunites with her former coaches for her final season of eligibility to lead the newcomers.
3) Manley and Rowe have started in all four of Southern Miss' games thus far and have met, if not exceeded, their early expectations. Manley dropped 17 points against Blue Mountain Christian on Nov. 7 to shatter her career scoring high. Rowe dished out seven assists against BMC as well and scored 11 last week at Southeastern.
4) Southern Miss is overseas for the second time in program history and first time since the 2007 Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico. The Lady Eagles are 1-1 all-time outside American soil and are making their debut in The Bahamas.
5) Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is back for her 21st season at the helm of the Lady Eagle program. She sports a 331-289 record at Southern Miss and a 560-445 career record in 34 seasons as a head coach. Bowling Green was the 161st opponent McNelis has coached against in her 34-season career.
About the Bears
Baylor stands at 3-1 with its only loss coming by two points at Oregon earlier this year. The Bears are scoring an average of 82.0 points per game while holding opponents to just 51.5 per contest for an impressive +30.5 scoring margin.
The Bears are also some of the nation's best on the glass, averaging 45 rebounds per game with a +13.3 margin on the boards.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs leads Baylor in points per game (18.8) and rebounds per game (9.8) to nearly averaged a double-double per contest. Along with Littlepage-Buggs, Jada Walker and Aaronette Vonleh also average double-figures with 12.3 and 12.0 per game, respectively.
As a group, the Bears were picked to finish fourth in the Big Twelve this season with Vonleh earning Preseason All-Big Twelve Conference honors as well as Co-Newomer of the Year laurels. Vonleh was joined on the Preseason All-Conference Team by fellow Bear Sarah Andrews.
Baylor head coach Nicki Collen is in her fourth season and holds a 77-29 career record since taking over for Kim Mulkey. Her Bears have made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the Sweet 16 last season. Collen has not been a head coach against Southern Miss, but did play against the Lady Eagles at Marquette and coach against them as a member of the Florida Gulf Coast coaching staff.
The Baylor Series
Tomorrow's meeting will be the third all-time between Southern Miss and Baylor. The two programs first met in 1979 in Natchitoches, La., at Northwestern State's Prather Coliseum. The game was part of the Lady Demons Jaycees Christmas Classic and was won by the Lady Eagles handily.
Baylor tied the series with a dominating win in the 2015 Preseason WNIT at Baylor's old Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
After This
Win or lose, Southern Miss will play either Columbia or Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 24. The winners of each game will play each other at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET) with the losers of each game playing at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET).
Southern Miss will know its next foe after Columbia and Indiana play at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) tomorrow.
Celebrating 50 Seasons of Southern Miss Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season of Southern Miss Lady Eagle Basketball marks a major milestone for the program and for The University of Southern Mississippi as the women's basketball program celebrates its 50th season of competition. Following the adoption of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Southern Miss added women's basketball and women's tennis as official athletic programs beginning in the 1975-76 season. Since then, the Lady Eagles have laid out five decades of excellence on and off the court. To celebrate this golden jubilee, Southern Miss women's basketball will host its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion on Saturday, January 18, against South Alabama at Reed Green Coliseum.
Follow The Lady Eagles
Follow the Lady Eagles on Twitter (@SouthernMissWBB), Instagram (@southernmisswbb) or on Facebook (/SouthernMissWBB) to stay up-to-date on Southern Miss women's basketball. Fans can visit Southern Miss.com or download the Southern Miss GameDay app to see full schedules, releases and more.
Game Five // Southern Miss (2-2) vs. Baylor (3-1)
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 // 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET)
TV: FloCollege // Evan Stockton (PxP) and Lexi Ayala (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Maxwell Greenough (PxP)
Imperial Arena (3,500) // Paradise Island, The Bahamas
Starting Five
1) Southern Miss returns just five from last season's WNIT Super 16 squad, including four starters from the postseason run. In total, the Lady Eagles lost 55 percent of their scoring from last season and 44 percent of minutes played. Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) leads the group of five returners while riding a 59-game starting streak dating back to the 2022-23 season. Grayson is joined by fellow Mississippian Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) and sophomore sharpshooter Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) as the three Lady Eagles to start the majority of their games last year. Also returning is postseason point guard Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) and reserve guard Mikaylah Manley (Lake Charles, La.).
2) With just five returners, Southern Miss added eight newcomers in the offseason spread between high school signees, junior college transfers and one Sun Belt Conference veteran. Freshmen include Micah Cooper (Carrollton, Texas), Jaime Gallatly (Maffra, Australia), Whitney Hart (Baton Rouge, La.), Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) and Ava Shields (Hammond, La.). From the junior college ranks comes Je'Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) via Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Samantha Shanks (Webbers Falls, Okla.) from Connors State College. Former ULM Warhawk and Arkansas State Red Wolf Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) reunites with her former coaches for her final season of eligibility to lead the newcomers.
3) Manley and Rowe have started in all four of Southern Miss' games thus far and have met, if not exceeded, their early expectations. Manley dropped 17 points against Blue Mountain Christian on Nov. 7 to shatter her career scoring high. Rowe dished out seven assists against BMC as well and scored 11 last week at Southeastern.
4) Southern Miss is overseas for the second time in program history and first time since the 2007 Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico. The Lady Eagles are 1-1 all-time outside American soil and are making their debut in The Bahamas.
5) Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is back for her 21st season at the helm of the Lady Eagle program. She sports a 331-289 record at Southern Miss and a 560-445 career record in 34 seasons as a head coach. Bowling Green was the 161st opponent McNelis has coached against in her 34-season career.
About the Bears
Baylor stands at 3-1 with its only loss coming by two points at Oregon earlier this year. The Bears are scoring an average of 82.0 points per game while holding opponents to just 51.5 per contest for an impressive +30.5 scoring margin.
The Bears are also some of the nation's best on the glass, averaging 45 rebounds per game with a +13.3 margin on the boards.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs leads Baylor in points per game (18.8) and rebounds per game (9.8) to nearly averaged a double-double per contest. Along with Littlepage-Buggs, Jada Walker and Aaronette Vonleh also average double-figures with 12.3 and 12.0 per game, respectively.
As a group, the Bears were picked to finish fourth in the Big Twelve this season with Vonleh earning Preseason All-Big Twelve Conference honors as well as Co-Newomer of the Year laurels. Vonleh was joined on the Preseason All-Conference Team by fellow Bear Sarah Andrews.
Baylor head coach Nicki Collen is in her fourth season and holds a 77-29 career record since taking over for Kim Mulkey. Her Bears have made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the Sweet 16 last season. Collen has not been a head coach against Southern Miss, but did play against the Lady Eagles at Marquette and coach against them as a member of the Florida Gulf Coast coaching staff.
The Baylor Series
Tomorrow's meeting will be the third all-time between Southern Miss and Baylor. The two programs first met in 1979 in Natchitoches, La., at Northwestern State's Prather Coliseum. The game was part of the Lady Demons Jaycees Christmas Classic and was won by the Lady Eagles handily.
Baylor tied the series with a dominating win in the 2015 Preseason WNIT at Baylor's old Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
After This
Win or lose, Southern Miss will play either Columbia or Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 24. The winners of each game will play each other at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET) with the losers of each game playing at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET).
Southern Miss will know its next foe after Columbia and Indiana play at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) tomorrow.
Celebrating 50 Seasons of Southern Miss Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season of Southern Miss Lady Eagle Basketball marks a major milestone for the program and for The University of Southern Mississippi as the women's basketball program celebrates its 50th season of competition. Following the adoption of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Southern Miss added women's basketball and women's tennis as official athletic programs beginning in the 1975-76 season. Since then, the Lady Eagles have laid out five decades of excellence on and off the court. To celebrate this golden jubilee, Southern Miss women's basketball will host its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion on Saturday, January 18, against South Alabama at Reed Green Coliseum.
Follow The Lady Eagles
Follow the Lady Eagles on Twitter (@SouthernMissWBB), Instagram (@southernmisswbb) or on Facebook (/SouthernMissWBB) to stay up-to-date on Southern Miss women's basketball. Fans can visit Southern Miss.com or download the Southern Miss GameDay app to see full schedules, releases and more.
– #McNelisStrong | #SMTTT –
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