Saturday, February 3
Reed Green Coliseum
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
12-9,5-6Sun Belt
72
vs
63
Troy
12-9,9-2Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Troy
22
19
13
9
63
Southern Miss.
10
21
17
24
72
Lady Eagles Erase Deficit to Down Troy on Celebration Filled Day
2/3/2024 7:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
McNelis Earns Career Win 550
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Troy played a great basketball game for 35 minutes, but fortunately for Southern Miss, today's game went the full 40. The Lady Eagles erased a 14-point deficit in the second half and topped Troy 72-63 on Senior Day at Reed Green Coliseum. The comeback is Southern Miss' largest since coming back from down 17 last year against Coastal Carolina.
The Trojans scored first and then held on to a lead for the next 33:32, always able to answer any Southern Miss (12-9, 5-6 Sun Belt) attack. Troy (12-9, 9-2 Sun Belt) took a 10-0 run into the second quarter, leading 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. Southern Miss technically won the second quarter 21-19, but it never truly felt like Southern Miss was fully back in the game.
Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.) opened the second half with a renewed fervor, stroking a long ball for the first basket of the half. The Lady Eagles cut the deficit to two multiple times but the Trojans fended off Southern Miss' attack. Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) put up eight of her game-leading 21 points in the third frame. Though it was Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) saved the best for last on the day of her Senior Day celebrations.
Davis put up 10 points in the final quarter on her 19-point day. With just three games left to play at Reed Green Coliseum before hanging it up, Davis turned in a fourth quarter for the ages. She tied the game at 58 all – the first tie of the day since the opening 0-0 tipoff – and followed it up with a dime to Grayson to give Southern Miss its first lead of the day.
Troy called a timeout with five minutes to play after the lead-taking basket fell. Southern Miss never relinquished its newfound lead, leading the Trojans for all five minutes down the stretch. Davis and Cornfield sank crucial free throws down the stretch to hang on to victory. In total, Southern Miss outscored Troy 24-9 in the last 10 minutes, holding the Trojans to a 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) performance from the floor while shooting 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) on the Southern Miss end.
Grayson scored a game-best 21 points, for her 10th 20-point scoring performance of her career. She is now stands alone as the as the 25th-best scorer in Lady Eagle history with 1,050 total points. Davis turned in another 19 points for her 71st double-figure scoring game. Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) and Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) also finished with double-figure efforts, the first time four Lady Eagles scored in double figures since Jan. 18 against Georgia State.
Bracey also collected her seventh career double-double with 12 boards.
Most impressive, the Lady Eagles out-rebounded one of the nation's best rebounding teams 46-45 and kept an offense averaging 79.7 per game to just 63 points.
After the game, three celebrations ensued. The first for the come-from-behind victory and the third for Davis and Mahoganie Williams (Monroe, La.) who were honored as the team's seniors. The middle celebration is 33 years in the making as head coach Joye Lee-McNelis recorded her 550th career victory as a head coach. She becomes just the 52nd head coach in NCAA history to win 550 games as a Division I coach.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss plays six of its last eight games on the road beginning with a trip to Statesboro, Ga., for a Wednesday, Feb. 7, tip against Georgia Southern.
Tipoff from Georgia Southern's Hanner Fieldhouse is set for 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET).
The Trojans scored first and then held on to a lead for the next 33:32, always able to answer any Southern Miss (12-9, 5-6 Sun Belt) attack. Troy (12-9, 9-2 Sun Belt) took a 10-0 run into the second quarter, leading 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. Southern Miss technically won the second quarter 21-19, but it never truly felt like Southern Miss was fully back in the game.
Noelani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y.) opened the second half with a renewed fervor, stroking a long ball for the first basket of the half. The Lady Eagles cut the deficit to two multiple times but the Trojans fended off Southern Miss' attack. Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) put up eight of her game-leading 21 points in the third frame. Though it was Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) saved the best for last on the day of her Senior Day celebrations.
Davis put up 10 points in the final quarter on her 19-point day. With just three games left to play at Reed Green Coliseum before hanging it up, Davis turned in a fourth quarter for the ages. She tied the game at 58 all – the first tie of the day since the opening 0-0 tipoff – and followed it up with a dime to Grayson to give Southern Miss its first lead of the day.
Troy called a timeout with five minutes to play after the lead-taking basket fell. Southern Miss never relinquished its newfound lead, leading the Trojans for all five minutes down the stretch. Davis and Cornfield sank crucial free throws down the stretch to hang on to victory. In total, Southern Miss outscored Troy 24-9 in the last 10 minutes, holding the Trojans to a 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) performance from the floor while shooting 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) on the Southern Miss end.
Grayson scored a game-best 21 points, for her 10th 20-point scoring performance of her career. She is now stands alone as the as the 25th-best scorer in Lady Eagle history with 1,050 total points. Davis turned in another 19 points for her 71st double-figure scoring game. Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.) and Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) also finished with double-figure efforts, the first time four Lady Eagles scored in double figures since Jan. 18 against Georgia State.
Bracey also collected her seventh career double-double with 12 boards.
Most impressive, the Lady Eagles out-rebounded one of the nation's best rebounding teams 46-45 and kept an offense averaging 79.7 per game to just 63 points.
After the game, three celebrations ensued. The first for the come-from-behind victory and the third for Davis and Mahoganie Williams (Monroe, La.) who were honored as the team's seniors. The middle celebration is 33 years in the making as head coach Joye Lee-McNelis recorded her 550th career victory as a head coach. She becomes just the 52nd head coach in NCAA history to win 550 games as a Division I coach.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss plays six of its last eight games on the road beginning with a trip to Statesboro, Ga., for a Wednesday, Feb. 7, tip against Georgia Southern.
Tipoff from Georgia Southern's Hanner Fieldhouse is set for 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET).
– #McNelisStrong –
Team Stats
TROY
USM
FG%
.366
.371
3FG%
.250
.333
FT%
.857
.941
RB
45
46
TO
18
19
STL
10
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballMissy Bilderback Presser - March 27, 2025
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Missy Bilderback Introductory Press Conference
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