Senior Voche’ Martin goes for the basket during the home game against West Florida on Nov. 8th. The Lady Eagles win against Tennessee Tech, 80-58. – Courtesy Photo/ Joe Harper, Southernmiss.com
The Lady Eagles (12-6, 5-2) have won three out of the last four games at home with a 67-55 victory over the North Texas Mean Green (2-16, 1-6).
The game was tightly contested throughout the first seven to ten minutes of the game, with both teams trading buckets in the first half.
After the Lady Eagles captured a 10-9 lead in the first half at the 13:03 mark, they never looked back. For the duration of the game, they either led or were tied on the scoreboard.
Throughout the first half, the offense predicated on getting to the foul line and hitting jump shots. With only two made layups throughout the first period, hitting jump shots was crucial.
Freshman Megan Brown added 17 points off the bench, providing an outside presence for the Lady Eagles. Brown shot 4-of-5 from the field, while shooting a perfect 3-3 on three point attempts.
“Megan Brown went almost perfect,” said head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. “We’ve been waiting for that light to come on. She is our game ball player.”
In her freshman season, Megan Brown’s impact has not been huge because she has come off the bench in each of her 18 games as a Lady Eagle. With only averaging 13.5 minutes a game through the first 18, she looks to carve out a role in Lee-McNeilis’ offense.
In the second half, the Lady Eagles opened up with a comfortable 40-28 lead. North Texas started off the half cold, leading to a North Texas timeout with just over 3 minutes into the half.
Junior Jerontay Clemons led the Lady Eagles with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, leading in all categories. She finished 8-13 from the floor, while also getting to the line for two free throws, going 1-2.
“Jerontay Clemons played really well this weekend in both games,” McNelis said. “She played her best basketball on Thursday and followed up with a solid performance today.”
North Texas had a problem scoring the ball from the floor during the whole game. The team shot 11-28 in the first half, and the shooting woes did not get better from there. The Mean Green went on to shoot 9-32 in the second half and 1-6 from three, leading them to losing ten out of their last 11 games.
With the Lady Eagles getting other contributions offensively besides Tamara Jones, it remains to be seen if this team output can be consistent. With an expanding freshman role, and a consistent Clemons offensive attack, the Lady Eagles look to rise in the Conference USA standings.
The Lady Eagles take on Marshall Thursday, Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. in Huntington, West Virginia.
