Saturday, February 1
Reed Green Coliseum
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Troy
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Lady Eagles’ Homestand Continues with Saturday Showdown Against Troy
1/31/2025 4:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball takes on Troy this Saturday, Feb. 1, at Reed Green Coliseum as the first of two games on M.K. Turk Circle that day. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in the first of two meetings between Southern Miss and Troy this season.
The Lady Eagles (8-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) collected back-to-back wins in Sun Belt Conference play for the first time this season and have done so with suffocating defensive performances. The Lady Eagles held Marshall and Texas State to less than 50 points, marking the first time Southern Miss has done so since Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 of last year.
Troy (13-9, 7-3 Sun Belt) is one of the Sun Belt's best clubs this year despite coming off of back-to-back losses on the road. The Trojans are nearly a statistical anomaly on the glass as they lead the nation with 49.64 boards per game thanks to a nation-best 33.3 defensive rebounds per game and ninth-best 16.3 offensive rebounds per game.
The Lady Eagle Courtside Show, hosted by Jason Baker, will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the Southern Miss Sports Network. Live coverage in the ESPN app on ESPN+ begins at 1 p.m. with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd anchoring the broadcast.
Game 22 // Southern Miss (8-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) vs. Troy (13-9, 7-3 Sun Belt)
Saturday, February 1, 2025
TV: ESPN+ // Lee Roberts (PxP) & Larry Boyd (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Jason Baker (PxP) & Kay James (Color)
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095) // Hattiesburg, Miss.
About the Trojans
Troy was selected to finish second in the Preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll and received two first-place votes from the voting base. Shaulana Wagner and Zay Dyer earned spots on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second and Third Teams, respectively.
The Trojans finished its nonconference slate 6-6 before opening Sun Belt Conference play on a tear despite losing its first contest at James Madison. Troy won seven-straight games before falling last week at Louisiana and again at Arkansas State in their last time out.
The Trojans lead the Sun Belt with a scoring average of 78.0 points per game. Two Trojans, Zay Dyer (13.1) and Ashley Baez (11.5) average double-figure scoring efforts. However another six members of Troy score at least six points per game to reach their 78-point total.
Contrast to their scoring output, the Trojans are next-to-last in overall scoring defense in the Sun Belt, allowing 71.8 points per game. Southern Miss ranks just slightly higher at 12th in the Sun Belt with a 69.4 points per game average.
The Troy Series
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 6-1 over the Trojans. The Lady Eagles and Trojans have not played all too often despite their relatively close distance. The two teams first met for two meetings in the 1982-83 season when Troy was still a Division II team.
The Trojans came back to Hattiesburg in 2003 and the two teams did not meet again until Dec. 29, 2022, when Southern Miss played its first game as a Sun Belt Conference member in Troy.
Troy got its first win over Southern Miss last season in Troy, snapping a five-game streak in the series in favor of the Lady Eagles.
Against Alabama Teams
This game will be Southern Miss' 171st game against a program from Alabama. The Lady Eagles hold a 111-59 overall record against Alabama teams and a 33-21 record in conference play. The 2024-25 season will see Southern Miss play five games against Alabama teams with one against UAB and two each against South Alabama and Troy.
Southern Miss is 1-1 so far this season against Alabama teams, falling on the road to UAB and defeating South Alabama at home. As a program, Southern Miss is 74-17 at Reed Green Coliseum against Alabama-based teams.
Buckling the Sun Belt
Southern Miss is in its third season of Sun Belt Conference play after joining in 2022-23. With Southern Miss' addition to the league, the Sun Belt now spans 10 contiguous states from West Virginia to Texas. Six members of the league are within 400 miles of Hattiesburg with four less than a 300-mile drive away.
The Lady Eagles are 110-66 all-time against current Sun Belt teams and 43-34 all-time in conference play. Since 2022-23, Southern Miss is 27-19 in Sun Belt Conference games.
Joye Lee-McNelis is the league's longest tenured head coach and is the winningest active head coach in as well.
Leading Her Alma Mater
Joye Lee-McNelis is one of 40 active Division I head coaches currently leading their alma mater in women's basketball. She is one of 26 former women's basketball players currently leading the team she played for as well.
Three's Company
Southern Miss is on pace for a one of the program's best years behind the arc. The 2024-25 squad is making an average of 5.71 three-point baskets per game, making them just the second team in the program's history to average more than five three-pointers per game.
Southern Miss' current record average was 5.03 in 2007-08 while Southern Miss made its most three-point baskets in 2014-15 with 178 makes.
As another sign of the Lady Eagles' growth beyond the arc, the Lady Eagles made 10 three-point baskets for the second time this season against South Alabama. Southern Miss first hit the mark at Georgia State earlier this season. The 2024-25 season is the fifth in school history where the Lady Eagles made 10 three-point baskets in two consecutive games and the first since 2007-08.
#BurgBuilt
Fifth-year center Melyia Grayson is one of 45 players in Division I playing her fifth season at the one school. She entered the year already on the 1,000-point club's roster and has a chance to move into the top 10.
She enters tomorrow's game with 1,510 points and sits at 11th on the all-time scoring charts. She needs just two points to tie No. 10, currently held by Joye Lee-McNelis, who scored 1,512 points from 1980-84.
Against Texas State, she became the 11th player in program history to score at least 1,500 points as a Lady Eagle.
Grayson also has a chance to move up the charts in multiple categories. Against App State, Grayson played her 120th career game at Southern Miss and started her 103rd, moving her into the top 10 in both categories.
She is now third in games played (127) and ninth in starts (110). She also ranks top 10 in rebounds (fifth), blocks (third), field goal percentage (seventh), field goals made (eighth) and double-doubles (ninth).
30 Piece
Grayson tied her career high of 32 points at ULM on Jan. 9, collecting 14 rebounds en route to her 24th career double-double and third this season.
The game also moved her from 14th on the all-time scoring charts to 13th, passing Tanya Bullock (1990-94). She is just eight points away from tying Wilhelmina Smith (1981-85) for 12th all-time.
The Tampa Two
Former high school teammates Nyla Jean and Morgan Sieper reunited at the Division I level last season in Hattiesburg with Jean transferring from Georgia State and Sieper signing out of H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Fla.
The two won the 2021 FHSAA Class 7A State Title with the Plant Panthers where Jean was a senior and Sieper a sophomore. The two started together for the first time in their careers together on Dec. 21, 2023, at Florida Gulf Coast and last season's run in the Postseason WNIT was the first postseason action for the two since their 2021 state title run in Tampa.
The duo has scored in double-figures together in three games this season.
New Year, Newcomers
The 2024-25 season saw Southern Miss sign eight newcomers to their squad. Je'Mya Evans (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and Samantha Shanks (Connors State) both signed from NJCAA while Bre Sutton transferred from Arkansas State after spending her first two seasons at ULM.
Five freshman – Micah Cooper, Jaime Gallatly, Whitney Hart, Trinity Rowe and Ava Shields – all inked their letters of intent with Southern Miss as well.
Welcome Back Bre
Bre Sutton made her return to the floor on Sunday, Jan. 26, at Marshall. The senior guard from New Orleans, La., left the Jan. 2 game against Old Dominion with an injury after just 3:50 on the court. Sutton had started in all 13 games for the Lady Eagles up to that point but missed the next six.
She played 10:41 off the bench at Marshall and, though she did not find the net, collected two rebounds in return to play. Against Texas State, she returned to the starting lineup to make her 14th start this season.
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 hosted 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.
The Lady Eagles (8-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) collected back-to-back wins in Sun Belt Conference play for the first time this season and have done so with suffocating defensive performances. The Lady Eagles held Marshall and Texas State to less than 50 points, marking the first time Southern Miss has done so since Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 of last year.
Troy (13-9, 7-3 Sun Belt) is one of the Sun Belt's best clubs this year despite coming off of back-to-back losses on the road. The Trojans are nearly a statistical anomaly on the glass as they lead the nation with 49.64 boards per game thanks to a nation-best 33.3 defensive rebounds per game and ninth-best 16.3 offensive rebounds per game.
The Lady Eagle Courtside Show, hosted by Jason Baker, will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the Southern Miss Sports Network. Live coverage in the ESPN app on ESPN+ begins at 1 p.m. with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd anchoring the broadcast.
Game 22 // Southern Miss (8-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) vs. Troy (13-9, 7-3 Sun Belt)
Saturday, February 1, 2025
TV: ESPN+ // Lee Roberts (PxP) & Larry Boyd (Color)
Radio: Southern Miss Sports Network (92.7 FM) // Jason Baker (PxP) & Kay James (Color)
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095) // Hattiesburg, Miss.
About the Trojans
Troy was selected to finish second in the Preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll and received two first-place votes from the voting base. Shaulana Wagner and Zay Dyer earned spots on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second and Third Teams, respectively.
The Trojans finished its nonconference slate 6-6 before opening Sun Belt Conference play on a tear despite losing its first contest at James Madison. Troy won seven-straight games before falling last week at Louisiana and again at Arkansas State in their last time out.
The Trojans lead the Sun Belt with a scoring average of 78.0 points per game. Two Trojans, Zay Dyer (13.1) and Ashley Baez (11.5) average double-figure scoring efforts. However another six members of Troy score at least six points per game to reach their 78-point total.
Contrast to their scoring output, the Trojans are next-to-last in overall scoring defense in the Sun Belt, allowing 71.8 points per game. Southern Miss ranks just slightly higher at 12th in the Sun Belt with a 69.4 points per game average.
The Troy Series
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 6-1 over the Trojans. The Lady Eagles and Trojans have not played all too often despite their relatively close distance. The two teams first met for two meetings in the 1982-83 season when Troy was still a Division II team.
The Trojans came back to Hattiesburg in 2003 and the two teams did not meet again until Dec. 29, 2022, when Southern Miss played its first game as a Sun Belt Conference member in Troy.
Troy got its first win over Southern Miss last season in Troy, snapping a five-game streak in the series in favor of the Lady Eagles.
Against Alabama Teams
This game will be Southern Miss' 171st game against a program from Alabama. The Lady Eagles hold a 111-59 overall record against Alabama teams and a 33-21 record in conference play. The 2024-25 season will see Southern Miss play five games against Alabama teams with one against UAB and two each against South Alabama and Troy.
Southern Miss is 1-1 so far this season against Alabama teams, falling on the road to UAB and defeating South Alabama at home. As a program, Southern Miss is 74-17 at Reed Green Coliseum against Alabama-based teams.
Buckling the Sun Belt
Southern Miss is in its third season of Sun Belt Conference play after joining in 2022-23. With Southern Miss' addition to the league, the Sun Belt now spans 10 contiguous states from West Virginia to Texas. Six members of the league are within 400 miles of Hattiesburg with four less than a 300-mile drive away.
The Lady Eagles are 110-66 all-time against current Sun Belt teams and 43-34 all-time in conference play. Since 2022-23, Southern Miss is 27-19 in Sun Belt Conference games.
Joye Lee-McNelis is the league's longest tenured head coach and is the winningest active head coach in as well.
Leading Her Alma Mater
Joye Lee-McNelis is one of 40 active Division I head coaches currently leading their alma mater in women's basketball. She is one of 26 former women's basketball players currently leading the team she played for as well.
Three's Company
Southern Miss is on pace for a one of the program's best years behind the arc. The 2024-25 squad is making an average of 5.71 three-point baskets per game, making them just the second team in the program's history to average more than five three-pointers per game.
Southern Miss' current record average was 5.03 in 2007-08 while Southern Miss made its most three-point baskets in 2014-15 with 178 makes.
As another sign of the Lady Eagles' growth beyond the arc, the Lady Eagles made 10 three-point baskets for the second time this season against South Alabama. Southern Miss first hit the mark at Georgia State earlier this season. The 2024-25 season is the fifth in school history where the Lady Eagles made 10 three-point baskets in two consecutive games and the first since 2007-08.
#BurgBuilt
Fifth-year center Melyia Grayson is one of 45 players in Division I playing her fifth season at the one school. She entered the year already on the 1,000-point club's roster and has a chance to move into the top 10.
She enters tomorrow's game with 1,510 points and sits at 11th on the all-time scoring charts. She needs just two points to tie No. 10, currently held by Joye Lee-McNelis, who scored 1,512 points from 1980-84.
Against Texas State, she became the 11th player in program history to score at least 1,500 points as a Lady Eagle.
Grayson also has a chance to move up the charts in multiple categories. Against App State, Grayson played her 120th career game at Southern Miss and started her 103rd, moving her into the top 10 in both categories.
She is now third in games played (127) and ninth in starts (110). She also ranks top 10 in rebounds (fifth), blocks (third), field goal percentage (seventh), field goals made (eighth) and double-doubles (ninth).
30 Piece
Grayson tied her career high of 32 points at ULM on Jan. 9, collecting 14 rebounds en route to her 24th career double-double and third this season.
The game also moved her from 14th on the all-time scoring charts to 13th, passing Tanya Bullock (1990-94). She is just eight points away from tying Wilhelmina Smith (1981-85) for 12th all-time.
The Tampa Two
Former high school teammates Nyla Jean and Morgan Sieper reunited at the Division I level last season in Hattiesburg with Jean transferring from Georgia State and Sieper signing out of H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Fla.
The two won the 2021 FHSAA Class 7A State Title with the Plant Panthers where Jean was a senior and Sieper a sophomore. The two started together for the first time in their careers together on Dec. 21, 2023, at Florida Gulf Coast and last season's run in the Postseason WNIT was the first postseason action for the two since their 2021 state title run in Tampa.
The duo has scored in double-figures together in three games this season.
New Year, Newcomers
The 2024-25 season saw Southern Miss sign eight newcomers to their squad. Je'Mya Evans (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and Samantha Shanks (Connors State) both signed from NJCAA while Bre Sutton transferred from Arkansas State after spending her first two seasons at ULM.
Five freshman – Micah Cooper, Jaime Gallatly, Whitney Hart, Trinity Rowe and Ava Shields – all inked their letters of intent with Southern Miss as well.
Welcome Back Bre
Bre Sutton made her return to the floor on Sunday, Jan. 26, at Marshall. The senior guard from New Orleans, La., left the Jan. 2 game against Old Dominion with an injury after just 3:50 on the court. Sutton had started in all 13 games for the Lady Eagles up to that point but missed the next six.
She played 10:41 off the bench at Marshall and, though she did not find the net, collected two rebounds in return to play. Against Texas State, she returned to the starting lineup to make her 14th start this season.
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 hosted 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 –
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ 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