Saturday, March 23
Reed Green Coliseum
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
20-13,10-8Sun Belt
78
vs
67
Murray State
20-12,12-8MVC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Murray St.
17
16
20
12
2
67
Southern Miss.
13
19
19
14
13
78
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Rides Historic Performances to Overtime WNIT Win
3/23/2024 10:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Domonique Davis and Jacorriah Bracey scored the game's first 26 points and combined to score 58 in a 78-67 overtime win over Murray State at Reed Green Coliseum. The Lady Eagles survive once again and press on to the Super 16 of the 2024 Postseason WNIT. The game finished with 19 lead changes and 15 ties as both teams battled for the full 45 minutes.
Murray State (20-12, 12-8 Missouri Valley) entered Reed Green Coliseum with 20 wins to their name and a scoring average north of 85 points per game. The Lady Eagles held the Racers under 70 points for the third time this season and to a paltry 3-of-21 performance from behind the arc. MSU's Katelyn Young poured on 26 points in the losing effort and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double performance.
Southern Miss (20-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) earned it's 20th win of the season behind 33 points from Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) and 25 from Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.). The duo combined for 58 of Southern Miss' 78 points as Bracey played a complete 45-minute game and Davis played 44:47, subbing out with 13 second left to a standing ovation from the 1,566 fans in Reed Green Coliseum.
Davis' 33-point performance allows her to stand alone at the top of the single season scoring record with 651 points this season, passing Brittanny Dinkins and Portland McCaskill to claim the top spot. She is also seventh all-time in career scoring with 1,608 points and eight points behind Nedra Hosey for sixth place. Poetically, Davis' 33 are the most by any Lady Eagle in a WNIT game, passing Portland McCaskill's 28-point mark from 1982.
The Racers jumped out to an eight-point lead early in the first quarter and were able to lead for the majority of the frame, entering the second quarter up 17-13. A Bracey field goal at the 7:11 mark tied it at 20-all – the first of 15 ties in the game – and a Davis free throw on the possession gave Southern Miss its first lead of the evening. The two teams traded the lead another seven times with Murray State holding a 33-32 advantage at the half.
Davis and Bracey each had 14 at the half with Bracey owning eight rebounds en route to her career-best 25 points and 12 boards. Neither team was able to build a real advantage as the game stayed with four points for the next 20 minutes. In the final minute of play, the Racers and Lady Eagles traded timeouts and fouls with Southern Miss executing a perfect final minute of play, forcing a backcourt violation and jump ball to stay alive. Davis earning a trip to the line with 13.7 seconds left to play and drilled both attempts to tie it at 65-65. Murray State missed two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to play thanks to the raucous Reed Green crowd.
The two teams entered overtime tied at 65, but not for long. Bracey scored two baskets in quick succession to give Southern Miss a 69-65 advantage before a Davis dagger three beat the buzzer to make it 72-65. After that, the Lady Eagles ran to the finish, outscoring Murray State to 13-2 in the overtime and holding the Racers 0-of-5 from the floor. Southern Miss also forced three turnovers to run Murray State's total up to 18 on the day. The Lady Eagles only turned the ball over 11 times, the fewest giveaways since Nov. 11.
Perhaps the biggest milestone of the day, the win coincided with Joye Lee-McNelis' 1000th career game as a head coach, dating back over 33 years to her first game as the head coach at Memphis. She is now 558-442 overall and 329-286 at Southern Miss.
UP NEXT
The Magnificent Seven await their date, time and location against the winner of Monday's game between Grambling State and ULM. The WNIT officials will notify Southern Miss prior to the conclusion of the Tiger-Warhawk matchup of where the Super 16 game will take place.
Murray State (20-12, 12-8 Missouri Valley) entered Reed Green Coliseum with 20 wins to their name and a scoring average north of 85 points per game. The Lady Eagles held the Racers under 70 points for the third time this season and to a paltry 3-of-21 performance from behind the arc. MSU's Katelyn Young poured on 26 points in the losing effort and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double performance.
Southern Miss (20-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) earned it's 20th win of the season behind 33 points from Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) and 25 from Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss.). The duo combined for 58 of Southern Miss' 78 points as Bracey played a complete 45-minute game and Davis played 44:47, subbing out with 13 second left to a standing ovation from the 1,566 fans in Reed Green Coliseum.
Davis' 33-point performance allows her to stand alone at the top of the single season scoring record with 651 points this season, passing Brittanny Dinkins and Portland McCaskill to claim the top spot. She is also seventh all-time in career scoring with 1,608 points and eight points behind Nedra Hosey for sixth place. Poetically, Davis' 33 are the most by any Lady Eagle in a WNIT game, passing Portland McCaskill's 28-point mark from 1982.
The Racers jumped out to an eight-point lead early in the first quarter and were able to lead for the majority of the frame, entering the second quarter up 17-13. A Bracey field goal at the 7:11 mark tied it at 20-all – the first of 15 ties in the game – and a Davis free throw on the possession gave Southern Miss its first lead of the evening. The two teams traded the lead another seven times with Murray State holding a 33-32 advantage at the half.
Davis and Bracey each had 14 at the half with Bracey owning eight rebounds en route to her career-best 25 points and 12 boards. Neither team was able to build a real advantage as the game stayed with four points for the next 20 minutes. In the final minute of play, the Racers and Lady Eagles traded timeouts and fouls with Southern Miss executing a perfect final minute of play, forcing a backcourt violation and jump ball to stay alive. Davis earning a trip to the line with 13.7 seconds left to play and drilled both attempts to tie it at 65-65. Murray State missed two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to play thanks to the raucous Reed Green crowd.
The two teams entered overtime tied at 65, but not for long. Bracey scored two baskets in quick succession to give Southern Miss a 69-65 advantage before a Davis dagger three beat the buzzer to make it 72-65. After that, the Lady Eagles ran to the finish, outscoring Murray State to 13-2 in the overtime and holding the Racers 0-of-5 from the floor. Southern Miss also forced three turnovers to run Murray State's total up to 18 on the day. The Lady Eagles only turned the ball over 11 times, the fewest giveaways since Nov. 11.
Perhaps the biggest milestone of the day, the win coincided with Joye Lee-McNelis' 1000th career game as a head coach, dating back over 33 years to her first game as the head coach at Memphis. She is now 558-442 overall and 329-286 at Southern Miss.
UP NEXT
The Magnificent Seven await their date, time and location against the winner of Monday's game between Grambling State and ULM. The WNIT officials will notify Southern Miss prior to the conclusion of the Tiger-Warhawk matchup of where the Super 16 game will take place.
– #McNelisStrong –
Team Stats
MUR
USM
FG%
.358
.354
3FG%
.143
.167
FT%
.667
.826
RB
51
50
TO
18
11
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
12
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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