University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, January 30
Norfolk, Va. / Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center
5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss
at
Old Dominion
Southern Miss to Take on Old Dominion in Rescheduled Women’s Basketball Action
1/29/2026 8:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NORFOLK, Va. – Southern Miss (11-10, 4-6 Sun Belt) concludes a two-game road trip up the east coast on Friday, Jan. 30, against Old Dominion (13-9, 5-5 Sun Belt). The game was originally slated to take place on Saturday, Jan. 31, but has been moved up due to inclement weather surrounding Winter Storm Gianna. Tipoff in the reschedule game is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday night in Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Southern Miss spent Thursday traveling up to Norfolk after dropping a 70-67 heart-breaker Wednesday night at Georgia Southern. The Lady Eagles were down by 18 points early in the third quarter before chasing down the lead with 33 seconds to play. The home-standing Eagles hit a three-pointer with 6.5 seconds left in regulation to stave off the Lady Eagle comeback and collect their 10th home win of the year.
The Lady Eagles dropped to 4-6 in Sun Belt Conference play and 11-10 overall, extending their streak to four-straight since Jan. 17. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) broke out an 18-point second half to lead Southern Miss with 21 total points. She finished 5-of-9 from the three-point line and 8-of-14 overall as the key piece of Southern Miss' comeback effort.
Keats is one of four active Lady Eagles scoring double-figures each game with 11.3 points per game. Jakayla Johsnon (13.5), Hayleigh Breland (12.4) and Meloney Thames (12.1) are also notching in that group. Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) leads the Lady Eagles with points per game and steals (28). Keats, Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) all are averaging better than 2.0 assists per game with Keats leading the team with 2.7 per game and Thames and Breland trailing with 2.4 and 2.3 per contest.
Southern Miss will be looking for its first win in Norfolk, Va., in program history. The Lady Eagles are 0-3 all-time on Old Dominion's home floor. The last time Southern Miss traveled to the Mermaid City on Jan. 6, 2024, falling 68-62 after getting outscored 34-22 in the first half.
The Lady Monarchs enter the game with a 13-9 overall record and 5-5 ledger in Sun Belt Conference play. ODU snapped a two-game losing streak in league play on Wednesday night with an 85-62 win over ULM at home.
Simaru Fields leads Old Dominion with 13.1 points per game while En'Dya Buford sits with 12.5 as the only Lady Monarch to start in all 22 games. Friday's game will serve as a reunion of sorts with Buford reuniting with former coaches Missy Bilderback and Lauren Pittman and former teammates Carly Keats, Meloney Thames and Sakyia White. In 2022-23, that group, dubbed the "Fab Four" at Jones College led the Bobcats to the NJCAA Elite Eight on the backs of a 26-4 record.
Je'Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) played alongside Fields at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College while ODU's Laila Walker played at MGCCC and ULM last season under Bilderback. Walker also played at Jackson State in 2022-23 and 2023-24 playing alongside Breland and under assistant coach Jonathan Williams.
Keats and Hama'ya Fielder prepped together at Neshoba Central High School in Philadelphia, Miss., winning the 2022 MHSAA 5A Championship. Keats won the MHSAA Tournament MVP while Fielder collected the All-District MVP. Both players were selected to the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game later that season.
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.
Southern Miss spent Thursday traveling up to Norfolk after dropping a 70-67 heart-breaker Wednesday night at Georgia Southern. The Lady Eagles were down by 18 points early in the third quarter before chasing down the lead with 33 seconds to play. The home-standing Eagles hit a three-pointer with 6.5 seconds left in regulation to stave off the Lady Eagle comeback and collect their 10th home win of the year.
The Lady Eagles dropped to 4-6 in Sun Belt Conference play and 11-10 overall, extending their streak to four-straight since Jan. 17. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) broke out an 18-point second half to lead Southern Miss with 21 total points. She finished 5-of-9 from the three-point line and 8-of-14 overall as the key piece of Southern Miss' comeback effort.
Keats is one of four active Lady Eagles scoring double-figures each game with 11.3 points per game. Jakayla Johsnon (13.5), Hayleigh Breland (12.4) and Meloney Thames (12.1) are also notching in that group. Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) leads the Lady Eagles with points per game and steals (28). Keats, Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) all are averaging better than 2.0 assists per game with Keats leading the team with 2.7 per game and Thames and Breland trailing with 2.4 and 2.3 per contest.
Southern Miss will be looking for its first win in Norfolk, Va., in program history. The Lady Eagles are 0-3 all-time on Old Dominion's home floor. The last time Southern Miss traveled to the Mermaid City on Jan. 6, 2024, falling 68-62 after getting outscored 34-22 in the first half.
The Lady Monarchs enter the game with a 13-9 overall record and 5-5 ledger in Sun Belt Conference play. ODU snapped a two-game losing streak in league play on Wednesday night with an 85-62 win over ULM at home.
Simaru Fields leads Old Dominion with 13.1 points per game while En'Dya Buford sits with 12.5 as the only Lady Monarch to start in all 22 games. Friday's game will serve as a reunion of sorts with Buford reuniting with former coaches Missy Bilderback and Lauren Pittman and former teammates Carly Keats, Meloney Thames and Sakyia White. In 2022-23, that group, dubbed the "Fab Four" at Jones College led the Bobcats to the NJCAA Elite Eight on the backs of a 26-4 record.
Je'Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) played alongside Fields at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College while ODU's Laila Walker played at MGCCC and ULM last season under Bilderback. Walker also played at Jackson State in 2022-23 and 2023-24 playing alongside Breland and under assistant coach Jonathan Williams.
Keats and Hama'ya Fielder prepped together at Neshoba Central High School in Philadelphia, Miss., winning the 2022 MHSAA 5A Championship. Keats won the MHSAA Tournament MVP while Fielder collected the All-District MVP. Both players were selected to the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game later that season.
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.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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