
Lady Eagles’ Comeback Effort Against Texas State Falls Short
2/22/2025 7:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Southern Miss fell short in a 64-57 road loss to Texas State at Strahan Arena on Saturday afternoon. Despite a strong defensive effort and a late push in the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles were unable to overcome their early struggles. Nyla Jean led the Lady Eagles with 18 points and four steals.
Southern Miss (9-19, 4-12 Sun Belt) opened the game with strong showing the first quarter, outscoring Texas State (12-16, 6-10 Sun Belt) 15-10. Jean (Tampa, Fla.) held five of the Lady Eagles' first 15 as Southern Miss carried a 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) showing in the opening frame.
Texas State came out of the quarter break strong, tying the game 17-17 with 6:28 left in the first half. The Bobcats used an 18-2 run take a 30-19 lead into halftime. Southern Miss managed four points in the frame as Texas State outscored the Lady Eagles 20-4.
Southern Miss finished 2-of-11 in the frame to drop its first half percentages to 35 percent while Texas State shot 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) overall in the opening half. Jaylin Foster led all scorers in the half with 12 points while fellow Bobcat Destiny Terrell held nine rebounds.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) connected on a free throw just over a minute into the third quarter to cut the deficit to 32-20. The Lady Eagles cut the game to as few as eight points with 4:45 left in the quarter as Jean scored her 10th point of the night on the fast break.
After outscoring Texas State 17-13 in the quarter, Southern Miss entered the final ten minutes down 43-35 and scored the first seven points of the frame to force a Texas State timeout. Now down one point, Southern Miss stayed within three possessions and entered the final minute of play down three.
However, the Lady Eagles got into foul trouble early in the quarter and gave the Bobcats 12 shots at the free throw line, which allowed Texas State to hold off Southern Miss' second half surge. Southern Miss won the fourth quarter 21-19 and outscored Texas State 38-32 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the Bobcats second quarter.
As a group, the Lady Eagles finished the night 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) from the floor and 5-of-10 (50 percent) from beyond the arc. Jean finished as one of two Lady Eagles in double-figures as Sutton also finished with 10 points.
Texas State's Jaylin Foster led a trio of Bobcat double-figure scorers with 19 points. Destiny Terrell accounted for 15 of the Bobcats' 40 boards on the afternoon.
Melyia Grayson scored eight to pass Pauline Love for the eight-most points in program history. She now owns 1,580 career points, trailing Nedra Hosey's 1,616 by 36 points.
Up Next
Southern Miss returns home for its final stretch of the regular season to host Arkansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum.
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.
Southern Miss (9-19, 4-12 Sun Belt) opened the game with strong showing the first quarter, outscoring Texas State (12-16, 6-10 Sun Belt) 15-10. Jean (Tampa, Fla.) held five of the Lady Eagles' first 15 as Southern Miss carried a 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) showing in the opening frame.
Texas State came out of the quarter break strong, tying the game 17-17 with 6:28 left in the first half. The Bobcats used an 18-2 run take a 30-19 lead into halftime. Southern Miss managed four points in the frame as Texas State outscored the Lady Eagles 20-4.
Southern Miss finished 2-of-11 in the frame to drop its first half percentages to 35 percent while Texas State shot 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) overall in the opening half. Jaylin Foster led all scorers in the half with 12 points while fellow Bobcat Destiny Terrell held nine rebounds.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) connected on a free throw just over a minute into the third quarter to cut the deficit to 32-20. The Lady Eagles cut the game to as few as eight points with 4:45 left in the quarter as Jean scored her 10th point of the night on the fast break.
After outscoring Texas State 17-13 in the quarter, Southern Miss entered the final ten minutes down 43-35 and scored the first seven points of the frame to force a Texas State timeout. Now down one point, Southern Miss stayed within three possessions and entered the final minute of play down three.
However, the Lady Eagles got into foul trouble early in the quarter and gave the Bobcats 12 shots at the free throw line, which allowed Texas State to hold off Southern Miss' second half surge. Southern Miss won the fourth quarter 21-19 and outscored Texas State 38-32 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the Bobcats second quarter.
As a group, the Lady Eagles finished the night 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) from the floor and 5-of-10 (50 percent) from beyond the arc. Jean finished as one of two Lady Eagles in double-figures as Sutton also finished with 10 points.
Texas State's Jaylin Foster led a trio of Bobcat double-figure scorers with 19 points. Destiny Terrell accounted for 15 of the Bobcats' 40 boards on the afternoon.
Melyia Grayson scored eight to pass Pauline Love for the eight-most points in program history. She now owns 1,580 career points, trailing Nedra Hosey's 1,616 by 36 points.
Up Next
Southern Miss returns home for its final stretch of the regular season to host Arkansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum.
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
USM
TXST
FG%
.426
.421
3FG%
.500
.286
FT%
.545
.455
RB
30
40
TO
17
15
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
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