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Lady Eagles Hold Off UNO For First Win Of The Season
The Southern Miss Lady Eagles held off a furious comeback attempt by UNO, winning their first game of the season, 73-69, Thursday night.

Victoria Mason led all scorers with a game-high 26 points and La'Tasha Sumerall added 15. Andrea Haegele led the Privateers with 17 points, Kimberly Schlief came off the bench to score 16 points, Lora Ruddy added 10 points.

"I am very pleased with this victory," Head Coach Rick Reeves said. "I thought we played an excellent first half. We ran out of gas and made too many turnovers. We did the things in the second half, I told them not to. We put them at the line and gave up some open threes. I am extremely pleased with this basketball team. We have to play three more games in five days. Again, this was a great win for us and I appreciate the kids hustle."

Southern Miss opened the first half with a 12-2 run through the first six minutes of the game. UNO was able to cut the lead to one, 16-15, following a 13-4 run over five minutes. Both team traded baskets for next 1:40, when the Lady Eagles outscored UNO 13-4 to take a 15-point lead, 33-18, with 3:22 before the half. USM closed out the half with a 9-2 in the last three minutes and led 42-20 at the half.

Southern Miss was 0-for-4 from three-point range, but made up for the miscues from the free throw line, hitting 12-of-13 from the line. USM also had a rebounding edge at the half, 25-14.

UNO opened the second half with a full-court press, forcing the Lady Eagles into three consecutive turnovers on their first three possessions. UNO forced the Eagles into 19 second-half turnovers, scoring 22 points off the miscues.

Southern Miss led by as many as 23, 53-30, with 12:38 remaining in the game, when UNO outscored USM 26-9 run to cut the lead to six points, 62-56, with 5:06 remaining. UNO continued to chip away at the lead, and trailed by one, 65-64, at the 2:29 mark.

Sumerall then scored on a fastbreak layup at the 2:27 mark, but UNO answered on its next possession by Jessica Dunham. Southern Miss biggest points came off a three-point basket with time winding down, when Sumerall canned a three to give Southern Miss a 70-66 lead with 1:42 remaining. UNO was able to cut the lead to one, 70-69, with 36 seconds remaining. The Lady Eagles ran off 26 seconds of the 30-second clock, when Sumerall hit a three from almost the same spot to seal the win for Southern Miss, 73-69. UNO got a shot off but Mason secured the rebound.

Southern Miss came up big from the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-21 free throws, while UNO was 18-of-28. The Eagles also held the rebounding edge, 45-33, with Tierra Lassister pulling down 10 rebounds. Lassister was one point away from a double-double.

The Lady Eagles will be without the services of junior forward Dana Jones, who has a foot injury and may miss up to two weeks.

Southern Miss returns home to host the 14th Annual Comfort Inn Classic, Dec. 1-2, in Green Coliseum. Southern Miss opens the tournament with Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m., followed by Alcorn State and Appalachian State at 4 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be played Sunday at 2 and 4, respectively.