HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Missy Bilderback's second season as head coach of the Southern Miss Lady Eagles got off to a great start at Reed Green Coliseum on Monday afternoon.
Riding a strong first half, Southern Miss didn't let up in the second half en route to an 85-59 win on "Education Day" over Mississippi Christian, improving to 1-0 on the year. The Lady Eagles never trailed in this one.
Southern Miss Lady Eagles center Whitney Hart during a preseason photoshoot. | Josh House
Hayleigh Breland led the Lady Eagles with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting overall, including 2-of-3 from deep, to go with three rebounds and two assists, and finished +25 in 27 minutes of action. Breland was one of four Eagles players to score in double figures, including Kylie Marshall (12), Chrysta Narcisse (10) and Ramia Augurson (10).
Narcisse posted a double-double with 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds.
As a team, Southern Miss only shot 38.8 percent from the floor and 25.9 percent from deep, but its smothering defense never gave the Choctaws a real chance to get anything going. The Lady Eagles dominated the boards in this one, 67-32. Three Southern Miss players finished with double-digit rebounds, including Narcisse (11), Whitney Hart (10) and Jada Gay (10).
Speaking of Gay, the talented freshman looked like a natural in her first college game, posting seven points on 3-of-6 shooting to go with those 10 rebounds. She also added two blocks on the defensive end.
Southern Miss head coach Missy Bilderback enters her second season with a new-look roster, higher expectations and positioning the Lady Eagles among the Sun Belt's top contenders. | Josh House
The Lady Eagles got a balanced scoring output from their starters and bench. The starters scored 43 points, and the bench scored the other 42. Southern Miss also racked up 42 points in the paint and 22 points from 14 Mississippi Christian turnovers.
Kennedy Langham led the Lady Eagles with five of the team's 15 assists. Although it wasn't the best shooting day for Langham (2-of-10), her impact in distributing the ball and on defense was evident in her +25 in the box score.
Next up, the Lady Eagles travel to Auburn, Ala., to take on the Tigers at Neville Arena on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. Fans will be able to watch the game on SEC Network+ or listen to it on the Southern Miss Sports Network.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/southernmiss as Southern Miss Lady Eagles Display Gritty Defense, Balanced Scoring in Season-Opening Win .
