Monday, November 4
Bowling Green, Ohio / Stroh Center
6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss
0-1,0-0Sun Belt
67
at
71
Bowling Green
1-0,0-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
15
16
9
27
67
Bowling Green
18
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19
71
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Falls in Hard-Fought Season Opener at Bowling Green
11/4/2024 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Melyia Grayson's 24-point season-debut proved to be not quite enough as the Lady Eagles were unable to finish off a 15-point comeback. The homestanding Falcons held off a 27-point Southern Miss fourth frame and escaped with a 71-67 win to start the year.
Bowling Green (1-0) led for the majority of the first half but was unable to fully pull away throughout as the Lady Eagles (0-1) answered each basket with one of their own. The Falcons' Taya Ellis started off the scoring a minute into tonight's action. Southern Miss' first points came from a Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) second-chance jumper just 30 seconds later. Jean notably did not start but came off the bench early and proved to be one of the squad's main contributors with seven first-half points on her 12-point day.
Jean and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) connected later on in the frame to take Southern Miss' first lead of the day with a 5-4 margin. The Falcons responded quickly, scoring nine points in the next three minutes to take a 13-5 lead in the frame. Southern Miss, though, was not out of gas yet as the Lady Eagles closed the first with a 6-1 run to trail 18-15. Erika Porter, one of the nation's most efficient shooters and best shooter in MAC history was kept in check, playing just under minutes before collecting her second foul.
Entering the second stanza, Southern Miss was able to their second lead of the day at the 8:50 mark thanks Bre Sutton's (New Orleans, La.) layup and a host of excellent ball movement from the Lady Eagles. BGSU quickly retook the lead but was unable to put away the Lady Eagles' attack. The Falcons led by eight with 2:30 until halftime before Sutton and Grayson cut it to a 35-31 halftime margin.
Grayson led Southern Miss with 12 points while Jean held seven and four rebounds. Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) did not leave the floor, playing all 20 minutes of the first half. She played an official 39:59 on the day and finished with nine points and five rebounds.
After winning the third quarter 17-9, the Falcons looked to be in the driver seat up 52-40 heading into the fourth quarter. Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) opened the eventual 27-point frame with a jumper. Grayson continued her dominant performance, scoring 10 to keep Southern Miss within reach of the lead. As late as under four minutes to play, Bowling Green held a double-figure advantage and looked to seal the game on a Jasmie Fearn three ball to put BGSU up 64-53.
A stout Southern Miss defense held the Falcons to just seven more points down the stretch compared to Southern Miss' 14 in the same span with three coming from the Lady Eagles' first made three-point basket of the night. Southern Miss struggled beyond the arc, finishing 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) with Sieper's made trey the only for the Black & Gold all night. Timely fouls and hard-fought press defense pushed Bowling Green to the limit as Porter and Kohler fouled out in the fourth quarter. Porter scored just four points on the day.
Jean sank a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to play to bring the score to a 69-67 margin. Grayson collected her fifth foul and left the game with 3.2 to play as BGSU's Taya Ellis finished out the game with two makes. Southern Miss used its final timeout to draw up a three-point play for Jean. Sieper grabbed to offensive board after the miss but did not get her final shot off before time expired.
Grayson led all scorers with 24 points while Jean and Sutton finished with12 and 10 points, respectively. Sutton's and eight rebounds for Southern Miss led the Lady Eagles as did her career-high tying six steals. Southern Miss forced 24 Bowling Green turnovers and won the turnover battle with a plus-four margin. The Lady Eagles also cleaned the glass efficiently, out-rebounding the Falcons 43-35 and 23-14 on the offensive glass.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads home to host its annual Education Day game on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Reed Green Coliseum against Blue Mountain Christian. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Lady Toppers is set for 11 a.m. CT.
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.
Bowling Green (1-0) led for the majority of the first half but was unable to fully pull away throughout as the Lady Eagles (0-1) answered each basket with one of their own. The Falcons' Taya Ellis started off the scoring a minute into tonight's action. Southern Miss' first points came from a Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) second-chance jumper just 30 seconds later. Jean notably did not start but came off the bench early and proved to be one of the squad's main contributors with seven first-half points on her 12-point day.
Jean and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) connected later on in the frame to take Southern Miss' first lead of the day with a 5-4 margin. The Falcons responded quickly, scoring nine points in the next three minutes to take a 13-5 lead in the frame. Southern Miss, though, was not out of gas yet as the Lady Eagles closed the first with a 6-1 run to trail 18-15. Erika Porter, one of the nation's most efficient shooters and best shooter in MAC history was kept in check, playing just under minutes before collecting her second foul.
Entering the second stanza, Southern Miss was able to their second lead of the day at the 8:50 mark thanks Bre Sutton's (New Orleans, La.) layup and a host of excellent ball movement from the Lady Eagles. BGSU quickly retook the lead but was unable to put away the Lady Eagles' attack. The Falcons led by eight with 2:30 until halftime before Sutton and Grayson cut it to a 35-31 halftime margin.
Grayson led Southern Miss with 12 points while Jean held seven and four rebounds. Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) did not leave the floor, playing all 20 minutes of the first half. She played an official 39:59 on the day and finished with nine points and five rebounds.
After winning the third quarter 17-9, the Falcons looked to be in the driver seat up 52-40 heading into the fourth quarter. Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) opened the eventual 27-point frame with a jumper. Grayson continued her dominant performance, scoring 10 to keep Southern Miss within reach of the lead. As late as under four minutes to play, Bowling Green held a double-figure advantage and looked to seal the game on a Jasmie Fearn three ball to put BGSU up 64-53.
A stout Southern Miss defense held the Falcons to just seven more points down the stretch compared to Southern Miss' 14 in the same span with three coming from the Lady Eagles' first made three-point basket of the night. Southern Miss struggled beyond the arc, finishing 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) with Sieper's made trey the only for the Black & Gold all night. Timely fouls and hard-fought press defense pushed Bowling Green to the limit as Porter and Kohler fouled out in the fourth quarter. Porter scored just four points on the day.
Jean sank a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to play to bring the score to a 69-67 margin. Grayson collected her fifth foul and left the game with 3.2 to play as BGSU's Taya Ellis finished out the game with two makes. Southern Miss used its final timeout to draw up a three-point play for Jean. Sieper grabbed to offensive board after the miss but did not get her final shot off before time expired.
Grayson led all scorers with 24 points while Jean and Sutton finished with12 and 10 points, respectively. Sutton's and eight rebounds for Southern Miss led the Lady Eagles as did her career-high tying six steals. Southern Miss forced 24 Bowling Green turnovers and won the turnover battle with a plus-four margin. The Lady Eagles also cleaned the glass efficiently, out-rebounding the Falcons 43-35 and 23-14 on the offensive glass.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads home to host its annual Education Day game on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Reed Green Coliseum against Blue Mountain Christian. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Lady Toppers is set for 11 a.m. CT.
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 –
Team Stats
USM
BGSU
FG%
.403
.451
3FG%
.063
.350
FT%
.571
.600
RB
43
35
TO
20
24
STL
15
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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