Southern Miss Grinds Out 81-73 Win Over UAB

Sunday, December 7

Reed Green Coliseum

2 p.m.

Southern Miss

7-3,0-0Sun Belt

UAB

4-5,0-0American

UAB

Southern Miss.

Southern Miss Grinds Out 81-73 Win Over UAB

12/7/2025 6:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book Photo Gallery

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (7-3) women's basketball snapped its three game losing streak and avenged its loss to UAB (4-5) earlier in the year with an 81-73 win over the rival Blazers on Sunday afternoon. Hayleigh Breland exploded for 25 points to lead all scorers as the two teams traded the lead back-and-forth 18 times with the Lady Eagles coming out on top to stay undefeated at home this season and grab their 19th consecutive nonconference win at home.

Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) led things off for the Lady Eagles with a three-point basket on the first possession of the game. She went on to drill five threes on the afternoon as Southern Miss again hit 12 three-pointers for the third time this year

Early momentum was hard to come by until UAB rolled off 10 unanswered points to take a 12-5 lead, forcing Southern Miss to take a timeout with 6:01 left in the opening frame. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) drilled a three out of the timeout to pull the Lady Eagles within four with Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) connecting on the next possession to cut the deficit to two.

UAB held off the Lady Eagles' scoring efforts, trading three pointers with Keats to end the quarter. Southern Miss trailed 21-17 after the first quarter with the Blazers leading for 6:58 of the 10-minute frame.

Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) became the game's unlikely hero, hitting her first field goal in three weeks to give Southern Miss the first points of the second quarter. Sieper had her own 8-2 run to start the quarter, tying the game at 25-all with 7:48 left in the half. Breland took the lead back for Southern Miss, the first of nine lead changes in the second quarter, on the next Lady Eagle possession.

UAB responded with a three of their own before Breland once again connected from three-point range to lead 30-28. The two teams stayed within a bucket of one another for the next six minutes before Sieper found nylon beyond the arc once again, giving Southern Miss its largest lead of the day in 46-42 fashion.

Leading by four at the half, Southern Miss scored 29 second quarter points and held an 18-of-31 (58.1 percent) overall mark on the floor with an 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) line behind the arc.

White got Southern Miss a six-point lead on the first basket of the second half but the Blazers used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 48-48 with 7:30 left. Jakayla Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) broke the tie, but UAB once again ran to eight unanswered points to lead 56-50 at the third quarter media timeout. Overall, UAB was on a 14-2 run before Meloney Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) connected on an and-one bucket with 2:38 left in the frame.

UAB pushed the lead to eight points and led 60-55 heading into the fourth quarter after doubling up the Lady Eagles 18-9 in the third quarter. Je'Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) got the game down to one possession with a 2-of-2 showing at the line.

Thames hit one of her two free throws to make it a two-point game and Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) drew a foul off Thames' miss, tying the game 60-60 at the line. Sieper picked off an errant UAB pass and dished the ball to Thames to give Southern Miss a 63-60 lead and an 8-0 run. UAB burned a timeout with 8:08 left in the game to regroup.

The Blazers connected on a three to tie the game, starting a span of five lead changes over the next three minutes. White got her eighth point of the night and gave Southern Miss the lead for good with a 73-71 margin at the 3:51 mark.

Southern Miss built up its lead with another Sieper three and with two Sieper free throws, giving her 16 points on the outing. UAB scored with 1:39 left, but was held without a basket down the stretch as the Lady Eagles held on for the win.

Sofia Munoz led the Blazers with 24 points as one of four double-figure scorers for UAB. Southern Miss scored 26 fourth quarter points, doubling up UAB's 13 in the frame. Breland led all scorers with 25 points with Sieper and Thames joining her in double-figures with 16 and 12, respectively.

Up Next
Southern Miss travels to Starkville to take on Mississippi State on Sunday, Dec. 14. Tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. with broadcasts on SEC Network + and the Southern Miss Sports Network.

Support Southern Miss Women's Basketball
Support Southern Miss women's basketball by purchasing your season tickets today for just $75. Visit smttt.info/WBBTix today to purchase your seats.

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.

– #ELEVATE | #SMTTT –