Southern Miss picked up their eleventh victory of the season after beating Conference USA foe Rice 65-54.  The Lady Eagles have won seven of their nine contests at Reed Green Coliseum this season and are currently in third place in C-USA with a 11-6 record.

The loss puts Rice at 6-11 in the win loss column and 1-5 in conference play, falling to 12th place.

Maya Hawkins and Megan Shafer led Rice in scoring with nine points a piece. Jerontay Clemons led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 16 points. Clemons just missed out on a triple-double; she finished the night with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Tamara Jones finished the night with 12 points, three assists and five steals. Brittanny Dinkins scored 12 points, while adding five assists and seven rebounds. Brooke Rhodes played a key role for Southern Miss scoring 11 points and two steals on the defensive end of the floor.

USM built a 19-point, 51-32, lead with 9:54 left in the game. The Lady Eagles used a 17-0 run to push the lead to 19. Rice shot their way back in the game, cutting the USM lead to eight after making three pointers on three straight possessions. Dinkins answered back with a three of her own to give the Lady Eagles a lead they would not relinquish on their way to a 65-54 victory.

Southern Miss will play North Texas Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 4 p.m.