Nov. 16, 2009 

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (Monday, November 16, 2009) – On paper the University of Southern Mississippi should have dominated the Redhawks women’s basketball team in every facet of the game despite playing on the Redhawks homecourt. What stats and those same papers don’t show is heart, hustle and the sheer will-power to win. That is why basketball games are played on courts and not on paper. The result was a 73-63 win by the Redhawks over the much bigger, athletic and talented Golden Eagles at the Show Me Center on Monday evening.

It was a landmark win for Redhawks Head Coach John Ishee, a Southern Miss alum and native of the Hattiesburg area, who got his coaching start at his alma mater. It was just the Redhawks fourth win over a team from powerhouse Conference USA and first over a C-USA school not named Tulsa. It was also the second-straight win by Coach Ishee over a C-USA opponent at the Show Me Center after defeating Tulsa, 67-45 back in November 10, 2007.

The Redhawks (2-0) led from the opening tip and jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the game’s opening five minutes. The Redhawks set the tone in that opening sequence on defense as the Golden Eagles (1-1) committed four turnovers. The undersized Redhawks were physical with the Golden Eagles forcing them into bad shot situations and forced them out of their offense.

Preseason C-USA First Team selection Paulina Davis recorded the Golden Eagles first basket at the 14:21 mark with a short jumper in the paint to make it a three point game, 7-4. No one expected that would be the closest the Golden Eagles would get the rest of the game as the Redhawks opened up a 11-point lead thanks to a 12-4 run over the next 4:17 capped by a Jasmine Davis (Hughes Center/Cincinnati, Ohio.) three-pointer.

The Redhawks twice grabbed a 12-point advantage in the opening half with the last coming at the 4:59 mark as freshman Bailie Roberts (Maryville/Maryville, Tenn.) converted on both of her free throws to make it 28-16.

The dangerous Golden Eagles went on a 8-0 run to cut the lead to four, 28-24 with 52 seconds left till half. Junior Lauren Sharpe (Tippecanoe/Tipp City, Ohio.), celebrating her 21st birthday, halted the run with a three-pointer to extend the lead back to seven before Lauren Pittman scored on a lay-up with seven seconds left in the half to make it a five-point differential, 31-26.

The Golden Eagles were held to a dismal 30-percent field goal percentage in the opening stanza as the made more free throws (9) then field goals (8). The Redhawks on the other hand shot a respectable 42-percent which included a 4-9 performance from beyond the three-point arc.

After committing the four early turnovers to start the game, the Golden Eagles committed just two in the half while the Redhawks turned the ball over nine times which led to 14 of the Golden Eagles 26 points.

The rebounding battle was close 22-21 in favor of the Golden Eagles but 11 of their boards came on the offensive end which they turned into eight points.

Love, who averaged a double-double last season enroute to First Team C-USA honors, had 12 points and five rebounds at the intermission. She had four baskets as the rest of the team combined to match her.

High-scoring guard Candace Rucker, who burnt the Redhawks for 16 points in their meeting last season, was held to just two points.

Sophomore Bianca Beck (Incarnate Word/St. Louis, Mo.) and Roberts each had seven points at the half to lead the Redhawks. Beck also had four assists as she played all 20 minutes in the opening half.

In the second half the Golden Eagles matched the closest point differential as Tanesha Washington converted on a lay-up 14 seconds into the half to make it 31-28. The Redhawks answered with a 17-4 run over the next 7:35 to grab their largest lead of the game, 48-32.

Davis had six points during that span and freshman Katie Norman (Freeport/Freeport, Ill.) converted a crucial three-point play.

The Golden Eagles committed six turnovers during that Redhawks run and attempted just six shots, missing four of those attempts.

The Golden Eagles attempted to make it interesting in the final seven minutes as they got the Redhawks lead down to single digits four times but senior Lesley Adams (Mineral Area C.C./St. Louis, Mo.) and the Redhawks clutch foul shooting held them off.

Adams recorded eight points in a six minute span as she showed a soft touch around the rim and a short jumper that saw nothing but the bottom of the net.

In the final 6:34 the Redhawks converted 10 of 15 from the charity stripe including 5-6 by Davis in the final 19 seconds after the Golden Eagles pulled with five, 68-63.

The poised Davis sealed the win with two freebies with two seconds left for the final margin of victory.

The Redhawks shot 52-percent from the field in the second half as they scored 31 of their 42 points in the paint and off of turnovers.

The Golden Eagles shot 45-percent in the second half but were hurt by 11 turnovers and the Redhawks perimeter defense, allowing them just six three-point attempt in which they managed just one basket.

They finished at 38-percent for the game (16-percent from three-point range). The Redhawks shot 47-percent and had 23 of their points come from the free throw line.

Rebounding was not much of the factor for the Golden Eagles as they won that battle 43-39 but the Redhawks defense wouldn’t let them capitalize on 24 offensive boards.

The Redhawks easily managed the Golden Eagles full-court press and committed just 16 turnovers.

Davis led the Redhawks in scoring for the second-straight game as she finished with 17 points with nine of those coming from the charity stripe. She went 2-5 from three-point range and collected four rebounds with two of those coming in the final 19 seconds. After Beck fouled out the freshman was not flustered as she assumed the point guard duties and finished the game with zero turnovers.

Adams had her best game in her Redhawks career as she finished with a new career-high 13 points on 5-7 shooting and converted 3-4 from the free throw line. She also collected six rebounds, a block shot and one steal.

Sharpe had 11 points as she went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. She also added three boards, two steals and two assists.

Roberts had another strong performance with nine points in just 16 minutes on 3-5 shooting from the field and from the free throw line. She added two offensive rebounds.

Freshman Brittany Harriel (Lakota West/Cincinnati, Ohio.) teamed up with Roberts and Adams to give Love fits and finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds (four offensive) off the bench.

Beck scored eight points and led all players with four assists in a career-best 38 minutes of action before fouling out.

Norman provided a spark off the bench with seven points on 3-4 shooting. She also dished out three assists and blocked a shot.

Love recorded her 41st double-double of her two-year career at Southern Miss as she finished with a game-high 24 points and collected a game-high 10 rebounds (six offensive). She was just 10-25 from the field as she faced constant double-teams and every shot of her was contested.

Parker managed ten points in the second half to finish with 12 on 6-10 shooting.

The remaining players made just six baskets of the 22 baskets for the Golden Eagles.

The win by the Redhawks extended their current home winning streak to nine games dating back to last season and improved their home record to 15-3 against nonconference opponents under Coach Ishee.

The Redhawks return to action this weekend as they start a two-game road swing against opponents from the Missouri Valley Conference. This Friday, November 21 the Redhawks travel to Springfield, Missouri to face in-state rival Missouri State at 1:05 p.m. The trip concludes on next Tuesday in Terre Haute, Indiana as the Redhawks face Indiana State at 5:00 p.m.