Women’s Basketball Opens East Coast Road Trip at Georgia Southern

Wednesday, January 28

Statesboro, Ga. / Jack & Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center

5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET)

Southern Miss

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Women’s Basketball Opens East Coast Road Trip at Georgia Southern

1/27/2026 2:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Media Center

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball begins the back half of Sun Belt Conference play on the road at Georgia Southern. Tipoff at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center in Statesboro, Ga., is slated for 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) as the first of seven road games in the final 10 of the regular season.

The Voice of the Lady Eagles, Jason Baker, opens the Lady Eagle Courtside Show at 5:30 p.m. CT on the Southern Miss Sports Network and 92.7 The Score in Hattiesburg. Danny Waugh, Blane Baillargeon and Dakota Guy will anchor the ESPN+ broadcast beginning at 5 p.m. CT.

The Lady Eagles (11-9, 4-5 Sun Belt) are making their debut in Georgia Southern's (15-5, 8-2 Sun Belt) Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center, which opened in Fall 2024 and replaced the Hanner Fieldhouse. Southern Miss is just 2-4 on the road this season overall and 1-2 in Sun Belt play.

Jakayla Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) leads Southern Miss with 13.5 points per game as one of four Lady Eagle starters in double-figures this season. Johnson ranks second in the Sun Belt with 18.6 points per game in league play. Hayleigh Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) is second on the team with 12.7 points per game overall but is the only Lady Eagle to reach double-figures in all nine of Southern Miss' Sun Belt games.

Meloney Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) also sport double-figure scoring lines on the year with newly minted starter Whitney Hart (Baton Rouge, La.) posting 4.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Hart has made four starts in place of the injured Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and is averaging 7.5 points 11.8 rebounds per game in her last four games.

Southern Miss will look to snap a three-game skid over the last two weeks and prevent Georgia Southern from winning its third-straight game over Southern Miss in the series. Southern Miss leads the all-time series 3-2 since the first meeting on Dec. 10, 1993. Southern Miss is 1-0 in Statesboro against Georgia Southern all-time with that game coming on Feb. 7, 2024, in Hanner Fieldhouse.

The homestanding Eagles are tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference table and just one game back from the lead. Second-year head coach Hana Haden has the Eagles out to a 15-5 start to the season and just one game away from tying last year's win total of 16 while the team's eight league wins are already the most since 2022-23.

Destiny Garrett leads a group of four double-figure scoring averages with 15.4 points per game and 88 total assists. Shanti Simmons' 6.7 rebounds per game and 58 total steals pace the team. Georgia Southern has lost just two games since Nov. 22 and is 9-1 at home with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 5 LSU on Nov. 9.

Support Southern Miss Women's Basketball
Support Southern Miss women's basketball by purchasing your season tickets today for just $75. Visit smttt.info/WBBTix today to purchase your seats.

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.

– #ELEVATE | #SMTTT –