Friday, March 8
Pensacola, Fla. / Pensacola Bay Center
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
(3) James Madison
Lady Eagles Ready for Rematch Against James Madison
3/7/2024 9:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Southern Miss women's basketball, 46 hours removed from a 70-53 thrashing of Coastal Carolina, eyes the Dukes of James Madison in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tire Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The Dukes and Lady Eagles met previously this year at Reed Green Coliseum with James Madison escaping with an 81-76 win. The rematch between last year's co-champions is set for 5 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center.
LAST TIME OUT
(6) Southern Miss moved to 18-12 on the year after a 70-53 second round win over (11) Coastal Carolina. Southern Miss led almost from start to finish and for every minute from the second quarter onward in its win. Four Lady Eagles scored double figures, led by Jacorriah Bracey's (Drew, Miss.) near career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Bracey, Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.), Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Asjha Leake (Cibolo, Texas) all scored in double figures to combine for all but eight of Southern Miss' 70 points. The Lady Eagles shot at a 49.2 percent rate from the floor and tied a season-high with 20 assists on 30 shots in some of the best basketball the team has played all year.
ABOUT JAMES MADISON
The Dukes earned the conference's third overall seed by way of a 13-5 regular season and are 21-10 overall. James Madison is led by head coach and native son Sean O'Regan, who is in his eighth season in Harrisonburg with a 178-73 career record.
O'Regan's Dukes are led in scoring by Peyton McDaniel's 14.5 points per game, who is the only Duke to play in the past month averaging double figures.
As a team, the Dukes are one of the nation's best rebounding teams, pulling down 46.61 per game for the country's fourth-best mark overall and second-best in the conference behind only Troy. JMU also has the best rebound margin of any Sun Belt team and fifth-best nationally with a +10.7 mark on the glass.
THE JAMES MADISON SERIES
Southern Miss and James Madison first met as Sun Belt newcomers in 2022-23 at Reed Green Coliseum with the Dukes taking a nine-point win that could have ultimately decided the Sun Belt Conference with an outright regular season title.
JMU traveled to Hattiesburg again this season and escaped Reed Green Coliseum with an 81-76 victory as Domonique Davis and Peyton McDaniel traded blows on their ways of 33 points each.
This is the third time the two will meet and first time on a neutral floor.
AFTER THIS
A win means Southern Miss will face the winner of (2) Troy and (7) Louisiana on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Sun Belt semifinals. A win in that game would punch Southern Miss' tickets to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game against (1) Marshall, (4) Old Dominion, (5) ULM or (9) Appalachian State.
LAST TIME OUT
(6) Southern Miss moved to 18-12 on the year after a 70-53 second round win over (11) Coastal Carolina. Southern Miss led almost from start to finish and for every minute from the second quarter onward in its win. Four Lady Eagles scored double figures, led by Jacorriah Bracey's (Drew, Miss.) near career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Bracey, Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.), Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Asjha Leake (Cibolo, Texas) all scored in double figures to combine for all but eight of Southern Miss' 70 points. The Lady Eagles shot at a 49.2 percent rate from the floor and tied a season-high with 20 assists on 30 shots in some of the best basketball the team has played all year.
ABOUT JAMES MADISON
The Dukes earned the conference's third overall seed by way of a 13-5 regular season and are 21-10 overall. James Madison is led by head coach and native son Sean O'Regan, who is in his eighth season in Harrisonburg with a 178-73 career record.
O'Regan's Dukes are led in scoring by Peyton McDaniel's 14.5 points per game, who is the only Duke to play in the past month averaging double figures.
As a team, the Dukes are one of the nation's best rebounding teams, pulling down 46.61 per game for the country's fourth-best mark overall and second-best in the conference behind only Troy. JMU also has the best rebound margin of any Sun Belt team and fifth-best nationally with a +10.7 mark on the glass.
THE JAMES MADISON SERIES
Southern Miss and James Madison first met as Sun Belt newcomers in 2022-23 at Reed Green Coliseum with the Dukes taking a nine-point win that could have ultimately decided the Sun Belt Conference with an outright regular season title.
JMU traveled to Hattiesburg again this season and escaped Reed Green Coliseum with an 81-76 victory as Domonique Davis and Peyton McDaniel traded blows on their ways of 33 points each.
This is the third time the two will meet and first time on a neutral floor.
AFTER THIS
A win means Southern Miss will face the winner of (2) Troy and (7) Louisiana on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Sun Belt semifinals. A win in that game would punch Southern Miss' tickets to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game against (1) Marshall, (4) Old Dominion, (5) ULM or (9) Appalachian State.
– #McNelisStrong –
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballMissy Bilderback Presser - March 27, 2025
Thursday, March 27
Jeremy McClain Presser - March 27, 2025
Thursday, March 27
Missy Bilderback Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, March 27
Thank You Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
Saturday, March 01