Women’s Basketball Falls to Arkansas State in Sun Belt Conference Game of the Week

Thursday, January 1

Reed Green Coliseum

6 p.m.

Southern Miss

9-5,2-1Sun Belt

Arkansas State

12-3,3-0Sun Belt

Arkansas St.

Southern Miss.

Women’s Basketball Falls to Arkansas State in Sun Belt Conference Game of the Week

1/1/2026 10:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Sun Belt Conference's women's basketball game of the week lived up to its billing as Southern Miss (9-5, 2-1 Sun Belt) battled Arkansas State (12-3, 3-0 Sun Belt) in a Thursday night shootout at Reed Green Coliseum. The Red Wolves pulled out a come-from-behind victory to defeat Southern Miss 91-83 in a battle of Sun Belt unbeatens.

The loss is Southern Miss' first in Sun Belt play this year and first of the season in the friendly confines of Reed Green Coliseum. Jakayla Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) and Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) each turned in 20-point performances with Johnson leading all scorers with 26 points and White notching a 20-point, 15-rebound double-double. Four Lady Eagles finished with double-figure scoring efforts with Hayleigh Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) and Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) adding on 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Southern Miss took the opening tip and used a floater jumper from White to take the early lead, one the Lady Eagles held on to for the remainder of the first half. The Lady Eagles led 7-0 before Arkansas State got its first points of the night two minutes into the game. The Red Wolves hit their first three of the game to bring the game to 10-9 in favor of Southern Miss, snapping a streak of five misses from long range by ASU.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Keats gave Southern Miss a 24-19 lead heading into the second quarter. Clicking on both ends of the floor, Southern Miss ran off to a 10-0 run split by an Arkansas State timeout. The Lady Eagles led 36-24 before A-State halted the run and forced back-to-back Southern Miss turnovers to cut the deficit to seven. White and Johnson made back-to-back shots to lead by 11 again, helping Southern Miss take a 45-38 lead into halftime.

While up at the break, Southern Miss' lead was a fragile one. The Red Wolves had forced 14 Southern Miss turnovers in the first half alone. Arkansas State held a 41.0 percent (16-of-39) field goal percentage to Southern Miss 58.3 percent (16-of-27) mark. Johnson led all scorers with 13 points at the half while White held 12 rebounds at the break.

The Red Wolves stormed out of the locker room and scored on their first four possessions of the half to take a 46-45 lead 42 second into the third quarter. Out of a Southern Miss timeout, Breland grabbed the lead back in favor of Southern Miss. The lead change was the second of eight in the third quarter alone with the two teams tying one another 11 times in total that frame.

Midway through, Southern Miss led 59-57 before Arkansas State drilled a three to take the 60-59 lead. The two teams traded the margin back and forth until Arkansas State's Crislyn Rose hit a shot as time expired in the quarter to give ASU a 70-68 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Red Wolves never gave up the lead again though Southern Miss pulled within one point with 5:25 left in the game after a pair of Breland free throws. In response, Arkansas State scored 11 of the next 14 points of the game to seal the game heading into the final minute. In foul trouble and with both teams in the bonus, Southern Miss was unable to pull within less than seven points.

In the second half, Arkansas State outscored Southern Miss 53-38 to pull out the win. The Lady Eagles were 0-of-13 from the three-point line in the half and committed 15 turnovers for a total of 29 – the most in a game since Nov. 11, 2018. Johnson's 26-point performance marked the most points by a player this season. She is the only player in the Sun Belt Conference to score 20 points or more in three conference games this season.

Up Next
Southern Miss faces another tough test on Saturday, Jan. 3, when the Troy Trojans come to town. Troy is ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and arrives in Hattiesburg with an 11-2 overall record and 2-0 mark in Sun Belt play after beating Louisiana 80-54.

Tipoff between the Trojans and Lady Eagles is set for 2 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum with broadcasts on the Southern Miss Sports Network and ESPN+.

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