
Lady Eagles Fall to App State
1/4/2025 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball dropped to 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play after falling 76-56 to App State on Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum. The Mountaineers scored 43 second half points and held Southern Miss to just 24 to claim their first win the series' history.
App State (7-6, 3-0 Sun Belt) struck first before Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) tied the game with her first points of the day. The Mountaineers ran off five unanswered to lead 7-2 before Southern Miss (5-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) fought back to tie it 9-9.
Coming out of the media break, Southern Miss trailed by two before back-to-back buckets from Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) gave Southern Miss its first lead of the day. Grayson's and-one bucket and free throw made it 14-11 in favor of the Lady Eagles.
Sieper hit her second three-point basket of the quarter to give Southern Miss a 17-13 lead at the end of the frame. Southern Miss out-shot App State 41.2 percent to 38.5 percent en route to their four-point lead.
Entering the second quarter, App cut it to one point on two occasions before another Grayson bucket gave Southern Miss a 27-21 lead, its largest of the day. App State ran out to an 8-0 scoring run after the media break. The Mountaineers led 29-27 with 2:30 to play before Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) hit a three-point bucket to give Southern Miss the lead once again.
App State retook the lead with two minutes to go and held a 33-32 lead going into the locker room. App State finished the first half with a 46.4 field goal percentage compared to Southern Miss' 39.4 percent mark, despite Southern Miss taking five more shots than the Mountaineers.
Sieper gave Southern Miss the lead again with the first shot of the third quarter before App State tied it once again. The Mountaineers used a 6-0 run to force Southern Miss into burning a timeout and continued their run after the break.
The Mountaineers shot 62.5 percent in the frame and scored 29 points to Southern Miss' 14. App State led by as many as 19 in the third quarter and did not look back heading into the fourth.
In the second half, App State outscored Southern Miss 43-24, holding the Lady Eagles to 6-of-25 from the floor. Sieper led all scorers with 18 points, tying her season-high, and was joined in double-figures by Grayson and Jean, who each scored 13.
App State's Elena Pericic and J'Mani Ingram each scored 17 to lead the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers move to 7-6 on the year and remain unbeaten in Sun Belt play. It is the first time App State sits above .500 this season.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads to Monroe, La., and Fant-Ewing Coliseum to take on ULM on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Warhawks is slated for 6:30 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.
App State (7-6, 3-0 Sun Belt) struck first before Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) tied the game with her first points of the day. The Mountaineers ran off five unanswered to lead 7-2 before Southern Miss (5-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) fought back to tie it 9-9.
Coming out of the media break, Southern Miss trailed by two before back-to-back buckets from Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) gave Southern Miss its first lead of the day. Grayson's and-one bucket and free throw made it 14-11 in favor of the Lady Eagles.
Sieper hit her second three-point basket of the quarter to give Southern Miss a 17-13 lead at the end of the frame. Southern Miss out-shot App State 41.2 percent to 38.5 percent en route to their four-point lead.
Entering the second quarter, App cut it to one point on two occasions before another Grayson bucket gave Southern Miss a 27-21 lead, its largest of the day. App State ran out to an 8-0 scoring run after the media break. The Mountaineers led 29-27 with 2:30 to play before Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) hit a three-point bucket to give Southern Miss the lead once again.
App State retook the lead with two minutes to go and held a 33-32 lead going into the locker room. App State finished the first half with a 46.4 field goal percentage compared to Southern Miss' 39.4 percent mark, despite Southern Miss taking five more shots than the Mountaineers.
Sieper gave Southern Miss the lead again with the first shot of the third quarter before App State tied it once again. The Mountaineers used a 6-0 run to force Southern Miss into burning a timeout and continued their run after the break.
The Mountaineers shot 62.5 percent in the frame and scored 29 points to Southern Miss' 14. App State led by as many as 19 in the third quarter and did not look back heading into the fourth.
In the second half, App State outscored Southern Miss 43-24, holding the Lady Eagles to 6-of-25 from the floor. Sieper led all scorers with 18 points, tying her season-high, and was joined in double-figures by Grayson and Jean, who each scored 13.
App State's Elena Pericic and J'Mani Ingram each scored 17 to lead the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers move to 7-6 on the year and remain unbeaten in Sun Belt play. It is the first time App State sits above .500 this season.
Up Next
Southern Miss heads to Monroe, La., and Fant-Ewing Coliseum to take on ULM on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Warhawks is slated for 6:30 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 –
Team Stats
APP
USM
FG%
.475
.328
3FG%
.318
.286
FT%
.688
.706
RB
48
26
TO
17
15
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
Missy 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