Sunday, December 29
Atlanta, Ga. / GSU Convocation Center
1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss
at
Georgia State
Southern Miss Meets Georgia State in Sun Belt Conference Opener
12/28/2024 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball continues its road swing with a weekend trip to Atlanta, Ga., to take on the Georgia State Panthers on Sunday, Dec. 29. Tipoff for the Lady Eagles' Sun Belt Conference opener is set for 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) at the Georgia State University Convocation Center.
Game 12 // Southern Miss (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Georgia State (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Sunday, December 29, 2024 // 1 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ // Sam Crenshaw (PxP and Kelcey Roegiers (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Jason Baker (PxP)
GSU Convocation Center (7,500) // Atlanta, Ga.
Starting Five
1) Southern Miss is looking for its first win away from the friendly confines of Reed Green Coliseum this season. Southern Miss is 4-0 on its home floor and 0-4 in true road games in addition to the squad's 0-3 mark at neutral sites. The last Lady Eagle win away from Reed Green came against Texas State on Feb. 28, 2024. Southern Miss' last nonconference win on the road was on Nov. 18, 2023, at North Alabama.
2) Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) is slowly but surely moving up the all-time scoring charts. She enters tomorrow's contest with 1,355 career points to her name. She is leading the Lady Eagles with 14.5 points per game. She moved into the top 10 all-time in field goals made against Mississippi Valley State and currently owns 572 field goals in her career, sitting ninth on the all-time charts.
3) Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) scored a career-high 24 points at UAB (Dec. 1) and is averaging 12.2 points per game – the highest average of her four-year career.
4) Southern Miss opens its third season in the Sun Belt Conference after joining prior to the 2022-23 season. The Lady Eagles won the 2023 regular season crown in their first season and are 23-13 in league games.
5) Junior guard Samantha Shanks made her first start at the Division I level last weekend at Missouri State. The Connors State College transfer finishing in the top two in assists and assists per game in all of NJCAA Last season.
About the Panthers
Georgia State returns home to the GSU Convocation Center after dropping their last nonconference game of the year at Kennesaw State last week. The Panthers sit at 6-5 overall and 5-1 on their home floor with the lonely loss coming 85-74 against Furman in the GSU Thanksgiving Classic.
The Panthers were selected eighth overall in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll with Mikyla Tolivert and Crystal Henderson both earning Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Honors. Tolivert leads the squad in scoring with 13.8 points per game with Kaleigh Addie joining her in double-figure scoring.
Head coach Gene Hill is in his seventh season at Georgia State and holds an 81-102 record with the Panthers. Hill's squad averages 67.3 points per game – 151st nationally – with a 37.0 defensive field goal percentage, which ranks 61st. The Panthers are extremely careful with the ball, committing just 12.9 turnovers per game with a +5.55 turnover margin. Their per game average is the 24th lowest in Division I while their margin is 41st.
The Georgia State Series
Southern Miss and Georgia State meet for the fourth consecutive season and for the eighth time in the series' history. The exact date of the first game in the series is unknown, but it did occur in December 1976.
The Lady Eagles took the first game at Reed Green Coliseum before Georgia State won back-to-back games in the series. Southern Miss enters the year riding a four-game streak in the series that began in 1990 at the Shoney's Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In the last three season, Southern Miss has won all three games with two wins coming in Atlanta by an average margin of 11 points. The Lady Eagles are 2-1 in Atlanta all-time and 1-0 inside the GSU Convocation Center.
After This
Southern Miss heads home to Hattiesburg to host two Sun Belt games at Reed Green Coliseum. The short homestand begins on Thursday, Jan. 2, against Old Dominion with tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Monarchs set for 6 p.m.
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 12 // Southern Miss (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Georgia State (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Sunday, December 29, 2024 // 1 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ // Sam Crenshaw (PxP and Kelcey Roegiers (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Jason Baker (PxP)
GSU Convocation Center (7,500) // Atlanta, Ga.
Starting Five
1) Southern Miss is looking for its first win away from the friendly confines of Reed Green Coliseum this season. Southern Miss is 4-0 on its home floor and 0-4 in true road games in addition to the squad's 0-3 mark at neutral sites. The last Lady Eagle win away from Reed Green came against Texas State on Feb. 28, 2024. Southern Miss' last nonconference win on the road was on Nov. 18, 2023, at North Alabama.
2) Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) is slowly but surely moving up the all-time scoring charts. She enters tomorrow's contest with 1,355 career points to her name. She is leading the Lady Eagles with 14.5 points per game. She moved into the top 10 all-time in field goals made against Mississippi Valley State and currently owns 572 field goals in her career, sitting ninth on the all-time charts.
3) Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) scored a career-high 24 points at UAB (Dec. 1) and is averaging 12.2 points per game – the highest average of her four-year career.
4) Southern Miss opens its third season in the Sun Belt Conference after joining prior to the 2022-23 season. The Lady Eagles won the 2023 regular season crown in their first season and are 23-13 in league games.
5) Junior guard Samantha Shanks made her first start at the Division I level last weekend at Missouri State. The Connors State College transfer finishing in the top two in assists and assists per game in all of NJCAA Last season.
About the Panthers
Georgia State returns home to the GSU Convocation Center after dropping their last nonconference game of the year at Kennesaw State last week. The Panthers sit at 6-5 overall and 5-1 on their home floor with the lonely loss coming 85-74 against Furman in the GSU Thanksgiving Classic.
The Panthers were selected eighth overall in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll with Mikyla Tolivert and Crystal Henderson both earning Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Honors. Tolivert leads the squad in scoring with 13.8 points per game with Kaleigh Addie joining her in double-figure scoring.
Head coach Gene Hill is in his seventh season at Georgia State and holds an 81-102 record with the Panthers. Hill's squad averages 67.3 points per game – 151st nationally – with a 37.0 defensive field goal percentage, which ranks 61st. The Panthers are extremely careful with the ball, committing just 12.9 turnovers per game with a +5.55 turnover margin. Their per game average is the 24th lowest in Division I while their margin is 41st.
The Georgia State Series
Southern Miss and Georgia State meet for the fourth consecutive season and for the eighth time in the series' history. The exact date of the first game in the series is unknown, but it did occur in December 1976.
The Lady Eagles took the first game at Reed Green Coliseum before Georgia State won back-to-back games in the series. Southern Miss enters the year riding a four-game streak in the series that began in 1990 at the Shoney's Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In the last three season, Southern Miss has won all three games with two wins coming in Atlanta by an average margin of 11 points. The Lady Eagles are 2-1 in Atlanta all-time and 1-0 inside the GSU Convocation Center.
After This
Southern Miss heads home to Hattiesburg to host two Sun Belt games at Reed Green Coliseum. The short homestand begins on Thursday, Jan. 2, against Old Dominion with tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Monarchs set for 6 p.m.
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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C
/ Women's Basketball
G
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