Lady Eagles run past Arkansas State, 61-36

Southern Miss Sports Information

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Lady Eagles handle Arkansas State 61-36 thanks to a 25-point third quarter as Southern Miss moves to 4-1 in Sun Belt Play. Four Southern Miss players finished with double-figure scoring on the evening.

Tale of the Tape

In a repeat of many games this season, Southern Miss (11-5, 4-1 Sun Belt) struggled to make early shots but managed to hold Arkansas State (5-11, 0-5) in check.

Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) broke the scoreless tie at the 8:08 mark, giving Southern Miss its first lead of the day. True freshman Chardai Watkins (Panola, Ala. // Sumter Central HS) made her first career start in lieu of Femi Funeus (Plantation, Fla. // Seton Hall) who is on restricted minutes.

Arkansas State managed to tie the game just once but proved unable to overtake the Black & Gold’s lead. The Red Wolves would not score until the six-minute mark via a free throw. The first A-State field goal would not come until 45 seconds left in the first frame.

Southern Miss led 11-6 after one and held on to a two-point, 20-18, lead going into the locker rooms.

The Lady Eagles scored the first seven points of the third quarter en route to a 25-point performance in the period. In the same time, Arkansas State managed just one basket. Southern Miss ended the period on a 16-point run.

Jacorriah Bracey (Drew, Miss. // Ole Miss) notched 10 points in the frame as Southern Miss finished 10-of-18 from the floor, a 55.6 percent rate. A-State made just 1-of-10 field goals in the third.

Joye Lee-McNelis’ squad rounded out the game in the fourth quarter as four Lady Eagles finished with double-figure scoring. Bracey led all scoreers with 16 points followed by Domonique Davis’ (DeRidder, La. // LSU) 15, Lani Cornfield’s (Gowanda, N.Y. // Northwest Florida State) 13 and Grayson’s 10.

Coach McNelis moves one win closer and one away from 300 wins as head coach of the Lady Eagles, currently sitting at 299.

Up Next

Southern Miss finishes its homestand against ULM Saturday, Jan. 14, at Reed Green Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

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