The Southern Miss Lady Golden Eagles basketball team has been dominant so far in the Missy Bilderback era, that’s no news to anyone. However, can fans actually put their finger on what makes them so dominant? As someone that has attended every home game they have played this season, this article will serve as my vessel to present you with the reasons.

Reason number one for why the Lady Golden Eagles are able to maintain such dominance is that Coach Bilderback knows how to keep fresh legs on the floor. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, watching her team substitute looks similar to a hockey team conducting a line change. Usually, you can expect the team to come out very hard in the first half of the first quarter, and when stoppage time comes, you can then expect a full unit change from Coach Bilderback. You can attribute this to depth on the roster. A coach could only do such a thing if they trust the all-around the roster to play well and not depend on a select group of players to anchor a unit. In turn, this allows the team to remain fresh as they play teams with smaller rotations.

Next, the three pointer. Preseason, Coach Bilderback said her team will “live and die by the three” and has also noted the heavy usage of three-point shots among the past winners of the conference. Although every game has not been perfect from beyond the arc, overall, the team has managed to consistently play winning basketball with the three pointer at the center of their game.

The final headline contribution to the Lady Golden Eagles success is chemistry. A team such as Southern Miss this season with as many transfers, and players that, just have, simply never played together is not always expected to come out of the gate and play as well as this, much less go undefeated for a substantial amount of time. Coach Bilderback made it a point during the offseason she had with her team to get players as comfortable as possible with each other, even taking players on a retreat for bonding, and it shows in the games. This is also evident if you look at the assist numbers for the team. This team is comfortable together, trusts each other, and doesn’t mind sharing the ball.

Next time you catch a Lady Golden Eagles game, look for these things, and you too will see why they are the juggernaut of a team they are.