Tuesday, March 4
Pensacola, Fla. / Pensacola Bay Center
11:30 a.m.
Southern Miss
10-21,5-13Sun Belt
59
vs
70
(12) Georgia Southern
15-17,6-12Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
11
17
20
11
59
Ga. Southern
16
20
19
15
70
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Lady Eagles Bow Out of Sun Belt Tournament in Loss to Georgia Southern
3/4/2025 3:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Georgia Southern (15-17, 6-12 Sun Belt) used a 26-point day from Leah Johnson to overpower Southern Miss' (10-21, 5-13 Sun Belt) 43.4 percent day from the floor and nine made three-point baskets as the Eagles advance to the second round of the 2025 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship to take on nine-seed ULM.
The games was head coach Joye Lee-McNelis' last as leader of the Lady Eagles and also marked the end of Melyia Grayson's (Hattiesburg, Miss.) illustrious career. Grayson finished with the sixth-most points in school history and played in the most career games in program history as well.
The Lady Eagles couldn't connect on their first attempt of the game after bringing down the opening tipoff, though Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) made the most of a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) steal and splashed a three-point basket to take an early 3-0 lead. Southern Miss did not score for over four minutes after Jean's make.
Georgia Southern, though, missed its first three attempts from the floor before the Eagles made their first basket at 6:47. The higher-seeded Eagles then used a 6-0 run to lead 6-3 before Jean again found nylon from deep to tie the game 6-6 going into the first media timeout.
Jean again splashed a triple coming out the break to lead 9-6 over Georgia Southern. The Eagles later took the lead on an and-one make but were unable to finish at the free throw line. Grayson got her first points of the day to give Southern Miss an 11-10 lead with 2:25 left in the opening frame.
The Eagles scored six unanswered down the stretch to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Georgia Southern's run continued into the second quarter as Leah Johnson scored the first four points of the frame before Jean snapped it at 10, setting the score at 20-13.
Southern Miss burned a timeout and triggered the second quarter media break after Georgia Southern's 15-5 overall run gave the 13-seed Eagles an 11-point lead. Grayson came out the timeout swinging, scoring four points on her own and sparking an 8-0 Lady Eagle run that cut the deficit down to three points.
Morgan Sieper extended Southern Miss' run to 10-2 over Georgia Southern after the media timeout, but Georgia Southern was not out yet. The Eagles ran off six unanswered to open a 36-26 lead over Southern Miss with less than a minute left in the first half. Grayson connected on two free throws to set the margin at 36-28 in favor of Georgia Southern at the half.
Grayson led all scorers at halftime with 12 points and was joined by Jean's 11 points as two double-figure scorers in the first half.
Georgia Southern's hot streak continued into the third quarter as the Eagles scored the first four points to take a 12-point lead. Sieper responded with Southern Miss' fifth three of the game to cut the game to single digits again, which is where the game remained for most of the third frame.
The Lady Eagles drilled 5-of-5 three-point attempts in the frame but Grayson's absence on the floor due to foul trouble allowed Georgia Southern's Leah Johnson to feast at the rim. Johnson scored 12 in the third quarter alone on a 6-of-8 mark. Her play was able to hold off Southern Miss' three-point surge and allowed the Eagles to lead 55-48 heading into the final 10.
Southern Miss cut the game to eight with four minutes left on a Grayson jumper but the damage was done. Georgia Southern outscored the Lady Eagles 15-11 in the final frame and held off Southern Miss to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Leah Johnson scored 18 in the second half to reach her game-leading 26 points. She was one of two Georgia Southern players to pull down a double-double with 10 boards, joining Indya Green who finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Melyia Grayson led Southern Miss with 16 points as one of three double-figure scorers. Jean and Sieper finished with 14 and 13 points respectively while Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) led the team with eight rebounds.
Georgia Southern scored 21 points off Southern Miss' 18 turnovers and outscored Southern Miss 50-24 in the paint while winning the rebounding battle 43-29 overall. The Eagles advance to take on nine-seed ULM tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
Southern Miss' season comes to an end at 10-21 overall, though the team did leave its mark, finishing as the best three-point shooting team in school history with the most makes (185) and attempts (537).
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.
The games was head coach Joye Lee-McNelis' last as leader of the Lady Eagles and also marked the end of Melyia Grayson's (Hattiesburg, Miss.) illustrious career. Grayson finished with the sixth-most points in school history and played in the most career games in program history as well.
The Lady Eagles couldn't connect on their first attempt of the game after bringing down the opening tipoff, though Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) made the most of a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) steal and splashed a three-point basket to take an early 3-0 lead. Southern Miss did not score for over four minutes after Jean's make.
Georgia Southern, though, missed its first three attempts from the floor before the Eagles made their first basket at 6:47. The higher-seeded Eagles then used a 6-0 run to lead 6-3 before Jean again found nylon from deep to tie the game 6-6 going into the first media timeout.
Jean again splashed a triple coming out the break to lead 9-6 over Georgia Southern. The Eagles later took the lead on an and-one make but were unable to finish at the free throw line. Grayson got her first points of the day to give Southern Miss an 11-10 lead with 2:25 left in the opening frame.
The Eagles scored six unanswered down the stretch to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Georgia Southern's run continued into the second quarter as Leah Johnson scored the first four points of the frame before Jean snapped it at 10, setting the score at 20-13.
Southern Miss burned a timeout and triggered the second quarter media break after Georgia Southern's 15-5 overall run gave the 13-seed Eagles an 11-point lead. Grayson came out the timeout swinging, scoring four points on her own and sparking an 8-0 Lady Eagle run that cut the deficit down to three points.
Morgan Sieper extended Southern Miss' run to 10-2 over Georgia Southern after the media timeout, but Georgia Southern was not out yet. The Eagles ran off six unanswered to open a 36-26 lead over Southern Miss with less than a minute left in the first half. Grayson connected on two free throws to set the margin at 36-28 in favor of Georgia Southern at the half.
Grayson led all scorers at halftime with 12 points and was joined by Jean's 11 points as two double-figure scorers in the first half.
Georgia Southern's hot streak continued into the third quarter as the Eagles scored the first four points to take a 12-point lead. Sieper responded with Southern Miss' fifth three of the game to cut the game to single digits again, which is where the game remained for most of the third frame.
The Lady Eagles drilled 5-of-5 three-point attempts in the frame but Grayson's absence on the floor due to foul trouble allowed Georgia Southern's Leah Johnson to feast at the rim. Johnson scored 12 in the third quarter alone on a 6-of-8 mark. Her play was able to hold off Southern Miss' three-point surge and allowed the Eagles to lead 55-48 heading into the final 10.
Southern Miss cut the game to eight with four minutes left on a Grayson jumper but the damage was done. Georgia Southern outscored the Lady Eagles 15-11 in the final frame and held off Southern Miss to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Leah Johnson scored 18 in the second half to reach her game-leading 26 points. She was one of two Georgia Southern players to pull down a double-double with 10 boards, joining Indya Green who finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Melyia Grayson led Southern Miss with 16 points as one of three double-figure scorers. Jean and Sieper finished with 14 and 13 points respectively while Bre Sutton (New Orleans, La.) led the team with eight rebounds.
Georgia Southern scored 21 points off Southern Miss' 18 turnovers and outscored Southern Miss 50-24 in the paint while winning the rebounding battle 43-29 overall. The Eagles advance to take on nine-seed ULM tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
Southern Miss' season comes to an end at 10-21 overall, though the team did leave its mark, finishing as the best three-point shooting team in school history with the most makes (185) and attempts (537).
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
USM
GS
FG%
.434
.485
3FG%
.563
.250
FT%
.333
.500
RB
29
43
TO
18
16
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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