Friday, November 18
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
72
vs
67
North Alabama
Third Quarter Rally Pushes Shorthanded Lady Eagles Over North Alabama
11/18/2022 10:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles got back in the win column after a 72-67 win over North Alabama. With 13 lead changes, six ties and an almost identical time leading, the game came down to final free throws and a tough rebound from Morgan Dillard (Sanford, Fla. // Seminole HS) to seal the victory for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss (2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) had just eight players suit up tonight as injuries continue to take a toll on the roster. Five players played over 30 minutes with Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) playing 38:22.
North Alabama (2-2, 0-0 ASUN) led for 17:30 but proved outmatched by the shorthanded Lady Eagles.
Morgan Dillard made her first career start in reprieve of Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) and played 16 minutes. She finished the night with five points and three rebounds but was instrumental in moving the Lady Eagles attack.
The first quarter began as every game has this season for Southern Miss—slow. The Lady Eagles found themselves down 0-10 at the 6:42 mark in the opening frame and did not score their first field goal until 4:45 left in the quarter.
Showing progress from previous games, Southern Miss quickly rebounded, scoring 14 in the last five minutes of the first quarter, ending the period down only two to the Lions. The Black & Gold's cold shooting quickly flipped as they ended the frame 7-of-13.
A back-and-forth second quarter saw four lead changes and ended with North Alabama up 38-35 thanks in large part to the Lady Eagles not making a basket from the four-minute mark through 0:42 left in the frame.
Davis notched 15 first half points and was 6-of-10 from the floor.
The second half wasted no time getting started as Southern Miss erased the three-point deficit thanks to a Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) pass that turned into a Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) long ball 11 seconds into the quarter.
Cornfield proved to be the flywheel of the Lady Eagles second half performance, regulating each movement and pass with a tenacious defense and balanced attack. She nailed two three pointers in the half and was 3-of-4 from the floor.
Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss. // Ole Miss) took the lead with a driving layup in the paint with 6:22 left in the third the Black & Gold never looked back as they never relinquished the lead.
A Lauren Gross steal turned into a Lani Cornfield basket on the fast break pushed Southern Miss' lead to 10 as the third quarter ended. Southern Miss outscored North Alabama 24-11 in the frame.
Southern Miss held on through the fourth quarter as North Alabama stormed back. The Lions came within three with 23 seconds left, forcing a Southern Miss timeout.
Domonique Davis crossed the quarter-century mark with 18 seconds left after drawing a foul in the paint and converting her free throw.
Morgan Dillard sealed the win for Southern Miss after grabbing a defensive rebound in a sea of Lions with two seconds left. She was immediately fouled and made one of two free throws to move the lead to five points.
Southern Miss finished the game 25-of-53 from the floor and 5-of-11 beyond the arc. Notably, the Lady Eagles dominated the paint, scoring 38 compared to North Alabama's 18.
Cornfield dropped a career-high 15 points off the bench and proved to be the spark the injury-rattled Lady Eagles needed.
Jacorriah Bracey also put up a season-high 12 points while Lauren Gross grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
Up Next
Southern Miss enjoys a much-needed break until the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic next Friday, Nov. 25 when the Lady Eagles return to play at 3 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum against Nicholls.
The two-day event features four games with Nicholls, Lamar and Mississippi Valley State joined the Black & Gold for the 36th edition of the classic.
Southern Miss plays Lamar on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5 p.m.
Lamar and MVSU play Friday at 5 p.m. and MVSU and Nicholls open Saturday at 3 p.m.
Southern Miss (2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) had just eight players suit up tonight as injuries continue to take a toll on the roster. Five players played over 30 minutes with Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) playing 38:22.
North Alabama (2-2, 0-0 ASUN) led for 17:30 but proved outmatched by the shorthanded Lady Eagles.
Morgan Dillard made her first career start in reprieve of Rose Warren (Puckett, Miss. // Puckett HS) and played 16 minutes. She finished the night with five points and three rebounds but was instrumental in moving the Lady Eagles attack.
The first quarter began as every game has this season for Southern Miss—slow. The Lady Eagles found themselves down 0-10 at the 6:42 mark in the opening frame and did not score their first field goal until 4:45 left in the quarter.
Showing progress from previous games, Southern Miss quickly rebounded, scoring 14 in the last five minutes of the first quarter, ending the period down only two to the Lions. The Black & Gold's cold shooting quickly flipped as they ended the frame 7-of-13.
A back-and-forth second quarter saw four lead changes and ended with North Alabama up 38-35 thanks in large part to the Lady Eagles not making a basket from the four-minute mark through 0:42 left in the frame.
Davis notched 15 first half points and was 6-of-10 from the floor.
The second half wasted no time getting started as Southern Miss erased the three-point deficit thanks to a Lani Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) pass that turned into a Lauren Gross (Southaven, Miss. // North Florida) long ball 11 seconds into the quarter.
Cornfield proved to be the flywheel of the Lady Eagles second half performance, regulating each movement and pass with a tenacious defense and balanced attack. She nailed two three pointers in the half and was 3-of-4 from the floor.
Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss. // Ole Miss) took the lead with a driving layup in the paint with 6:22 left in the third the Black & Gold never looked back as they never relinquished the lead.
A Lauren Gross steal turned into a Lani Cornfield basket on the fast break pushed Southern Miss' lead to 10 as the third quarter ended. Southern Miss outscored North Alabama 24-11 in the frame.
Southern Miss held on through the fourth quarter as North Alabama stormed back. The Lions came within three with 23 seconds left, forcing a Southern Miss timeout.
Domonique Davis crossed the quarter-century mark with 18 seconds left after drawing a foul in the paint and converting her free throw.
Morgan Dillard sealed the win for Southern Miss after grabbing a defensive rebound in a sea of Lions with two seconds left. She was immediately fouled and made one of two free throws to move the lead to five points.
Southern Miss finished the game 25-of-53 from the floor and 5-of-11 beyond the arc. Notably, the Lady Eagles dominated the paint, scoring 38 compared to North Alabama's 18.
Cornfield dropped a career-high 15 points off the bench and proved to be the spark the injury-rattled Lady Eagles needed.
Jacorriah Bracey also put up a season-high 12 points while Lauren Gross grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
Up Next
Southern Miss enjoys a much-needed break until the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic next Friday, Nov. 25 when the Lady Eagles return to play at 3 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum against Nicholls.
The two-day event features four games with Nicholls, Lamar and Mississippi Valley State joined the Black & Gold for the 36th edition of the classic.
Southern Miss plays Lamar on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5 p.m.
Lamar and MVSU play Friday at 5 p.m. and MVSU and Nicholls open Saturday at 3 p.m.