Women’s Basketball Comes Up Short in Comeback Attempt at Georgia Southern

Wednesday, January 28

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

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

Southern Miss

11-10,4-6Sun Belt

Georgia Southern

16-5,9-2Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Ga. Southern

Women’s Basketball Comes Up Short in Comeback Attempt at Georgia Southern

1/28/2026 8:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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STATESBORO, Ga. – Jakayla Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) tied the game with 33 seconds to play before Georgia Southern's Kayla Cleaveland hit her only shot of the day with 6.5 seconds left in regulation to give the home-standing Eagles a 70-67 win on Wednesday night at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center.

Southern Miss (11-10, 4-6 Sun Belt) overcame an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter to get back in the game but Georgia Southern (16-5, 9-2 Sun Belt) had just enough of a cushion to stay in the game. Kisjyah Anderson led all scorers with 31 points on a 14-of-22 shooting line, accounting for nearly half of Georgia Southern's field goals.

Anderson led the game off with a three-pointer on the opening possession ultimately accounting for 11 points in the first quarter and nine of the first 11 Georgia Southern points of the day. Hayleigh Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) scored Southern Miss' first points of the day before Georgia Southern ran off an 8-0 lead to make it a 13-3 advantage and force a Southern Miss timeout.

Breland broke a near two-minute Lady Eagle scoreless streak over eight Southern Miss possessions but Southern Miss trailed 19-9 at the end of the first frame. Georgia Southern out-scored Southern Miss 9-2 in the first four minutes of the second quarter, forcing another Lady Eagle timeout with 6:20 left in the half.

Another scoreless streak of over two-and-a-half minutes by Southern Miss gave Georgia Southern another advantage and the Eagles led 41-25 at the half. Southern Miss shot just 10-of-31 from the floor and 2-of-9 from the three while Georgia Southern shot 17-of-35 in the first half to take the 16-point lead into the locker room.

Needing a spark, the Lady Eagles looked to its starters in the early goings of the third quarter. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Meloney Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) hit two threes with Thames scoring another basket to force a Georgia Southern timeout at the 6:16 mark in the quarter. The Lady Eagles were winning the quarter 8-4 at that time and trailed 45-33 overall.

Southern Miss trailed by 15 again at the third quarter under-five timeout but the Lady Eagles used three possessions to bring the game within 10 points with 2:53 left in the frame. Southern Miss held a 7-0 run, forcing another timeout from the Eagles.

Georgia Southern did not score from the field in the final 4:20 of the third quarter and made just one free throw in the final five mintutes of the quarter. Southern Miss cut the margin down to 51-42 heading into the fourth quarter and won the third quarter 17-10.

Southern Miss moved the run to 11-1 overall before Georgia Southern got its first basket in nearly six minutes with a jumper at 8:53. From then, Keats caught fire, scoring 11 of Southern Miss' next 13 points to bring the game within one, 58-57, with 4:32 to play. She hit another two to give her 21 points with 3:41 left in the game.

Timya Thurman (Linden, Ala.) hit two crucial baskets to keep the game within two points on Southern Miss' next two possessions before Southern Miss forced a Georgia Southern shot clock violation to get the ball back with 54.1 seconds to play. Johnson was fouled under the basket and hit both her free throws to tie the game 67-67 with 33 to play.

With the paint defended, Georgia Southern kicked the ball out to Cleaveland who pulled up from the arc for her first basket of the game. She was 0-of-3 at that point in the night. Southern Miss was unable to score on its final possession, letting Georgia Southern hold on for their 16th win of the year.

Thames never left the floor, playing all 40 minutes for Southern Miss. Southern Miss placed three in double-figures with Keats leading the way with 21 points thanks to 18 in the second half. Southern Miss out-scored Georgia Southern 42-29 in second half thanks to a 51.7 percent (15-of-29) field goal percentage.

Up Next
Southern Miss heads to Norfolk, Va., to take on Old Dominion in the Ted Constant Center at Chartway Arena. The game is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT) on Saturday, Jan. 31.

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