Friday, February 28
Reed Green Coliseum
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
10-20,5-13Sun Belt
64
vs
53
Louisiana
13-15,9-9Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana
15
15
12
11
53
Southern Miss.
16
14
15
19
64
Lady Eagles End Regular Season on High Note in Romp Over Louisiana
2/28/2025 8:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball closed out its regular season with a resounding 64-53 win over Louisiana (13-15, 9-9 Sun Belt) in Coach Joye Lee-McNelis' final game at Reed Green Coliseum. The Lady Eagles (10-20, 5-13 Sun Belt) snap their seven-game skid in Sun Belt Conference play and head to Pensacola for the Sun Belt Tournament as the 13-seed.
Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) finished the night with 26 points and moved from eighth to tied-for-sixth on Southern Miss' all-time points leaderboard. She is now tied with Domonique Davis (2021-24) with 1,626 career points.
Grayson won the opening tip and scored Southern Miss' first points of the night on a three-point basket. She scored Southern Miss' first five points to give the Lady Eagles an early lead. Louisiana pushed back to take the lead before Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) gave the Lady Eagles the lead with 3:32 left in the frame.
Southern Miss got the final lead of the first quarter thanks to a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) three-pointer. Southern Miss led 16-15 heading into the second quarter after a 46.2 percent performance from the floor.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) scored the first points of the second quarter, helping to spark a 8-1 Lady Eagle run, giving Southern Miss a 24-16 and forcing the Cajuns to use their first timeout of the game. Louisiana was able to respond out of the break and then some, using an 10-0 run to take a 30-28 lead with 1:04 left in the first half.
Southern Miss failed to score from the field for over three minutes before Micah Cooper (Carrollton, Texas) tied the game 30-30 with 13 seconds left in the half. The Cajuns missed their chance to take the lead, sending the two teams into the locker rooms tied.
Neither team found success early in the third quarter as both failed to score for the first two-and-a-half minutes. The Cajuns struck first with Grayson quickly following with a game-tying shot on the next possession. Louisiana fought out to lead by as many as four with four minutes left in the quarter after Southern Miss' 1-of-11 performance in the frame.
The Lady Eagles closed the quarter making their last five attempts from the floor, starting with a Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) triple to cut the game to 38-37. Grayson grabbed the lead for the Lady Eagle before the Cajuns responded on their next possession to lead 40-39, taking their last lead of the night.
Rowe splashed her second three of the game to take a 42-40 lead with Jean following on the next possession with a three of her own to give Southern Miss a 45-40 margin. Louisiana made it a 45-42 game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cajuns cut the game to one thanks to Erica Lafayette's 15th and 16th points of the night. Rowe, though, rose up to drill a three on the next possession for Southern Miss' first points of the frame. Southern Miss scored 16 of the next 24 points in the quarter, leading by as many as 11 points.
Grayson scored nine of her 26 points on the evening in the fourth quarter alone with her last shot – a layup with one minute left in the game – tied her with Domonique Davis with 1,626 career points at Southern Miss.
Southern Miss was able to make 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch and ran the clock out to collect its 10th win of the campaign and fifth in Sun Belt Conference play. The win snapped a seven-game skid in Sun Belt play and a five-game overall losing streak.
Grayson also pulled down 13 rebounds for her 30th career double-double at Southern Miss, leading both teams in both categories. Coach McNelis also collected her 339th win as Southern Miss head coach and 227th win inside Reed Green Coliseum.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to Pensacola, Fla., as the 13-seed and will face 12-seed Georgia Southern on Tuesday, March 4, at 11:30 a.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 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.) finished the night with 26 points and moved from eighth to tied-for-sixth on Southern Miss' all-time points leaderboard. She is now tied with Domonique Davis (2021-24) with 1,626 career points.
Grayson won the opening tip and scored Southern Miss' first points of the night on a three-point basket. She scored Southern Miss' first five points to give the Lady Eagles an early lead. Louisiana pushed back to take the lead before Trinity Rowe (Pikeville, Ky.) gave the Lady Eagles the lead with 3:32 left in the frame.
Southern Miss got the final lead of the first quarter thanks to a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) three-pointer. Southern Miss led 16-15 heading into the second quarter after a 46.2 percent performance from the floor.
Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) scored the first points of the second quarter, helping to spark a 8-1 Lady Eagle run, giving Southern Miss a 24-16 and forcing the Cajuns to use their first timeout of the game. Louisiana was able to respond out of the break and then some, using an 10-0 run to take a 30-28 lead with 1:04 left in the first half.
Southern Miss failed to score from the field for over three minutes before Micah Cooper (Carrollton, Texas) tied the game 30-30 with 13 seconds left in the half. The Cajuns missed their chance to take the lead, sending the two teams into the locker rooms tied.
Neither team found success early in the third quarter as both failed to score for the first two-and-a-half minutes. The Cajuns struck first with Grayson quickly following with a game-tying shot on the next possession. Louisiana fought out to lead by as many as four with four minutes left in the quarter after Southern Miss' 1-of-11 performance in the frame.
The Lady Eagles closed the quarter making their last five attempts from the floor, starting with a Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) triple to cut the game to 38-37. Grayson grabbed the lead for the Lady Eagle before the Cajuns responded on their next possession to lead 40-39, taking their last lead of the night.
Rowe splashed her second three of the game to take a 42-40 lead with Jean following on the next possession with a three of her own to give Southern Miss a 45-40 margin. Louisiana made it a 45-42 game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cajuns cut the game to one thanks to Erica Lafayette's 15th and 16th points of the night. Rowe, though, rose up to drill a three on the next possession for Southern Miss' first points of the frame. Southern Miss scored 16 of the next 24 points in the quarter, leading by as many as 11 points.
Grayson scored nine of her 26 points on the evening in the fourth quarter alone with her last shot – a layup with one minute left in the game – tied her with Domonique Davis with 1,626 career points at Southern Miss.
Southern Miss was able to make 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch and ran the clock out to collect its 10th win of the campaign and fifth in Sun Belt Conference play. The win snapped a seven-game skid in Sun Belt play and a five-game overall losing streak.
Grayson also pulled down 13 rebounds for her 30th career double-double at Southern Miss, leading both teams in both categories. Coach McNelis also collected her 339th win as Southern Miss head coach and 227th win inside Reed Green Coliseum.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to Pensacola, Fla., as the 13-seed and will face 12-seed Georgia Southern on Tuesday, March 4, at 11:30 a.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 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
LA
USM
FG%
.375
.431
3FG%
.000
.368
FT%
.714
.583
RB
35
39
TO
6
7
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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