Wednesday, February 26
Reed Green Coliseum
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
9-20,4-13Sun Belt
55
vs
56
Arkansas State
18-10,14-3Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Arkansas St.
19
16
12
9
56
Southern Miss.
7
14
16
18
55
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Lady Eagles’ Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Arkansas State
2/26/2025 8:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (9-20, 4-13 Sun Belt) fought back from a 15-point deficit to take a late lead over Arkansas State (19-10, 14-3 Sun Belt) before the Red Wolves banked in the game-winning three-point basket with 2.9 seconds left in the game to escape Reed Green Coliseum with a 56-55 victory.
Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) led all scorers with 18 points, scoring 11 second half points to fuel Southern Miss' 34-21 second half performance. She, along with Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) accounted for two double-figure performances for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles brought down the opening tip but Arkansas State scored the first points of the game off a Crislyn Rose three-pointer. Southern Miss' first points game at the free throw line as Jean connected on 1-of-2 of her hots to set the game 3-1 early on.
Southern Miss started the game 0-of-7 from the floor before Grayson broke through for the Lady Eagles' first basket of the game. After her bucket, neither team scored for the next two minutes before Arkansas State drilled a three-pointer to take a 14-4 lead with three minutes left in the frame. A 2-of-17 performance in the first quarter gave Southern Miss a 19-7 deficit after the first 10 minutes.
Mikaylah Manley (Lake Charles, La.) broke through for back-to-back buckets in the second quarter to cut the game to 21-11 in favor of the Red Wolves. Later in the frame, Southern Miss scored seven unanswered to cut the game to and eight-point margin. Arkansas State took their largest lead of the day – a 15-point margin – with 5:03 left in the frame before the Lady Eagles held on to trail 35-21 at the half.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) and Grayson scored the first four points of the third quarter to cut the game to 10 points one again before Arkansas State jumped back out to a 38-25 lead on the next possession. Grayson crossed into double-figures with a jumper with 4:55 left in the frame, cutting the game to 12 points once again. The Lady Eagles held Arkansas State scoreless from the floor for nearly seven minutes in the frame, winning the frame 16-12 to trail 47-37 heading to the fourth.
Grayson found Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) for Southern Miss' first points of the fourth to make it a 49-40 margin. Arkansas State responded with a basket of their own to make it 52-40, though the Red Wolves did not score for the next 8:09 as Southern Miss rattled off 14 unanswered to come back and take a two-point lead with 25 seconds left in the game.
Jean tied the game at 53-53 all with a layup and gave the Lady Eagles their first lead on the next possession, forcing Arkansas State to use a timeout down 55-53. The Red Wolves then fouled the clock down to 17 seconds and collected the defensive rebound after two missed Southern Miss free throws.
On their final possession of the game, Arkansas State inbounded under the Lady Eagle basket as Crislyn Rose found Kyanna Montue with four seconds left in the game. Montue banked in a three-point basket off the glass to give the Red Wolves a 56-55 lead with 2.9 seconds to play.
Southern Miss was unable to score on its final possession of the game as the Lady Eagles losing streak extended to five-straight games. The Lady Eagles outscored Arkansas State 34-21 in the second half but fell just short due to Arkansas State's 14-point halftime cushion.
Up Next
Southern Miss hosts its final regular season game of 2024-25 on Friday at Reed Green Coliseum as the Lady Eagles take on Louisiana at 5 p.m. Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis will be honored at halftime of the men's game against Troy in her final game at 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 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.
Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) led all scorers with 18 points, scoring 11 second half points to fuel Southern Miss' 34-21 second half performance. She, along with Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) accounted for two double-figure performances for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles brought down the opening tip but Arkansas State scored the first points of the game off a Crislyn Rose three-pointer. Southern Miss' first points game at the free throw line as Jean connected on 1-of-2 of her hots to set the game 3-1 early on.
Southern Miss started the game 0-of-7 from the floor before Grayson broke through for the Lady Eagles' first basket of the game. After her bucket, neither team scored for the next two minutes before Arkansas State drilled a three-pointer to take a 14-4 lead with three minutes left in the frame. A 2-of-17 performance in the first quarter gave Southern Miss a 19-7 deficit after the first 10 minutes.
Mikaylah Manley (Lake Charles, La.) broke through for back-to-back buckets in the second quarter to cut the game to 21-11 in favor of the Red Wolves. Later in the frame, Southern Miss scored seven unanswered to cut the game to and eight-point margin. Arkansas State took their largest lead of the day – a 15-point margin – with 5:03 left in the frame before the Lady Eagles held on to trail 35-21 at the half.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) and Grayson scored the first four points of the third quarter to cut the game to 10 points one again before Arkansas State jumped back out to a 38-25 lead on the next possession. Grayson crossed into double-figures with a jumper with 4:55 left in the frame, cutting the game to 12 points once again. The Lady Eagles held Arkansas State scoreless from the floor for nearly seven minutes in the frame, winning the frame 16-12 to trail 47-37 heading to the fourth.
Grayson found Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) for Southern Miss' first points of the fourth to make it a 49-40 margin. Arkansas State responded with a basket of their own to make it 52-40, though the Red Wolves did not score for the next 8:09 as Southern Miss rattled off 14 unanswered to come back and take a two-point lead with 25 seconds left in the game.
Jean tied the game at 53-53 all with a layup and gave the Lady Eagles their first lead on the next possession, forcing Arkansas State to use a timeout down 55-53. The Red Wolves then fouled the clock down to 17 seconds and collected the defensive rebound after two missed Southern Miss free throws.
On their final possession of the game, Arkansas State inbounded under the Lady Eagle basket as Crislyn Rose found Kyanna Montue with four seconds left in the game. Montue banked in a three-point basket off the glass to give the Red Wolves a 56-55 lead with 2.9 seconds to play.
Southern Miss was unable to score on its final possession of the game as the Lady Eagles losing streak extended to five-straight games. The Lady Eagles outscored Arkansas State 34-21 in the second half but fell just short due to Arkansas State's 14-point halftime cushion.
Up Next
Southern Miss hosts its final regular season game of 2024-25 on Friday at Reed Green Coliseum as the Lady Eagles take on Louisiana at 5 p.m. Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis will be honored at halftime of the men's game against Troy in her final game at 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 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 –
Team Stats
ASU
USM
FG%
.317
.328
3FG%
.317
.389
FT%
.500
.625
RB
41
46
TO
20
22
STL
14
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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