Southern Miss used an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to collect a 62-54 Sun Belt women's basketball victory over host Georgia Southern on Wednesday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Southern Miss Eagles improved to 13-9 overall and 6-6 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Georgia Southern falls to 13-11 overall and 3-9 in the Sun Belt. It was the first meeting between the two teams as Sun Belt rivals.
The visitors jumped out to an 18-8 lead at the end of the first period, but the Eagles cut that lead down to eight at the break, 34-26, and outscored Southern Miss by a 20-12 margin in the third quarter to tie things up heading into the fourth quarter, 46-all.
A jumper by Zaria Johnson with 5:16 left in the fourth quarter put the Eagles in front by one, 51-50, but Southern Miss then embarked on its crucial 8-0 run over the next minute and a half, capped by a Lani Cornfield basket with 3:42 left for a 58-51 advantage. Georgia Southern would only be able to score three points the rest of the way.
Constance Thomas led the Eagles on the night with 14 points, while Domonique Davis paced all scorers for Southern Miss with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor, including one three-pointer, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Eagle of the Game
Kayla Thomas got her first start since November and responded with six points, six rebounds, a pair of steals and a blocked shot in 22 and a half minutes of action.
Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern hit just 3-of-18 shots from the floor (16.7 percent), including going 0-for-6 from three-point range, in the pivotal fourth quarter of the contest.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the game against Southern Miss
"I thought we had a good middle portion of the game in the second and third quarter. Started off a little slow and ended slow with another scoring drought. We were down a couple of people we rely on like Eden and Terren, and Kanija Daniel isn't here either, so it makes it a little challenging for people to step up and play more minutes than they're accustomed to. We forced 19 turnovers, and then we got back into double digits in assists, so there are some positives on the night. We can't let the game get away from us after we have it in our control."
On if any changes to the offensive gameplan were made being short-handed
"Just encouraging people to shoot. We're on the floor and used to Terren taking all of our attempts. We want people to be comfortable shooting the ball and not forcing up shots. Shooting shots we know they can make and take. But we were missing open shots and layups tonight."
Next Up
Georgia Southern returns to action on Saturday, traveling to Dekalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois in the second leg of the MAC/SBC Challenge at 2 p.m. ET
