HATTIESBURG, Ms – Southern Miss (14-8, 7-4 Sun Belt Conference) opened its homestand with a chance to elevate its high standing in the conference, but Old Dominion instead handed the Lady Eagles a second consecutive loss that has them back to the drawing board.
“Old Dominion just came in here and took over our place. They stole about everything we had. Lampshades, VCRs, whatever we got- they took control,” Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said.
The Monarchs established control from the start of the game, and for a while, Southern Miss competed by tying the game seven times and even taking a four-point lead.
Domonique Davis and Femi Funeus drove the bulk of the team’s offensive production, scoring 11 of the 20 field goals in the game. Davis had a team-high 15 points and 7 rebounds and Funeus tallied 14 points and six boards.
“I was glad to have Davis in the game to be able to score for us and run the show,” Lee-McNelis said.
Coach McNelis looks on as her players suffer home defeat. (Charlie Luttrell, SM2)
Lee-McNelis also noted the production of Funeus in the post. Funeus has continued to carve more of a role in the lineup and contributed as the team’s leading post scorer over the last week, playing three consecutive games with more than 25 minutes on the court.
Lee-McNelis said that the rest of the team struggled to find success on offense, which showed in the box score. Outside of Funeus and Davis, the team shot for 32%, or 9-28.
And even though the game was tied at 26 at halftime thanks to a turnaround in the second quarter, the tempo and pace of the game never felt set and consistent for the Lady Eagles.
“The turnovers obviously were our Achilles heel,” Lee-McNelis said.
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