(Photo/Tyron Dawson)

The Lady Eagles had a quick turnaround to another home game Saturday afternoon, winning handily 79-60 against the Owls of Florida Atlantic University.

The Lady Eagles blowout win was in part to a phenomenal first-quarter performance. 

Southern Miss’ Sophomore Center Melyia Grayson scored the Lady Eagles’ first six points under the rim to kickstart a dominant 23-4 first quarter and a career night for herself. 

“We’ve talked all week about we’ve not gotten off to a very good starts, and we had to get off to a great start, said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis

By the end of the game, Grayson touted 32 points, shooting 10 of 13 from the field, and ten rebounds, eclipsing her previous career-high of 24 points against Western Kentucky earlier this season. 

“Well, my guards were getting into the paint, penetrating and just finding me, so I just had to finish for them, Grayson said.

After Grayson’s special day, the sophomore now has five double-doubles on the season. She also boasts six games of ten plus rebounds to her stat sheet on the season.

The Lady Eagles defended well to start the game, forcing FAU into six turnovers on 2 of 11 shooting in the quarter. 

In the middle of the quarter, Southern Miss held the Lady Owls scoreless for nearly four minutes, going on a 17-2 run to end the quarter. 

“We took care of the basketball, we dominated the glass on both ends of the floor and that got us out to the 23-4 run. I think that was the game-changer,” Lee-McNelis said.

By the end of the first, the damage was done as the Owls did not recover from the Lady Eagles’ hot start. The Owls rose its field goal percentage from 17% to just 28% on the half and suffered a 37-19 deficit at the half.

Grayson finished the half with 19 points on eight of ten shooting and four rebounds.

The Owls tried to battle back, barely losing the scoring margin in the second half to the Eagles at 42-41, but it was too little too late. 

Southern Miss owned the stat sheet, leading in almost every category on paper. The Lady Eagles won both the points in the paint battle and rebounding at 46-26. 

Being aggressive in the paint allowed Southern Miss to reach the free-throw line, going 21 of 31 compared to FAU’s 9 of 11 shooting. 

The Owls instead hoisted a lot of three-point shots, shooting 24% on 21 attempts from deep. Southern Miss also struggled from deep on 20% shooting on 10 attempts. 

The Lady Eagles improved on last game’s 22 turnovers with only 12 for the day while also forcing FAU to cough it up 15 times. The Lady Eagles almost achieved a two-to-one turnover margin with 21 assists on the night. 

Southern Miss Guard Domonique Davis followed behind Grayson’s career night with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds. Forward Destiny Smith added 13 points on six of eight shooting from the field. 

Southern Miss wraps up its four-game slate at home with two more games left, facing (5-16, 2-8) UTSA Monday at 6 pm.