Red-Hot Lady Pirates Knock Off Southern Miss, 56-53
January 18, 2004 | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- East Carolina's Jennifer Jackson sank what proved to be the game winning three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, lifting East Carolina over Southern Miss, 56-53, in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon in Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss (13-3, 1-2) had a chance to tie the game, but failed to get a shot off in the final 6.6 seconds. East Carolina, winners of its last seven, improved to 13-4 and 4-0.
Both teams got off to a slow start, struggling over the first six minutes of the game. ECU led 10-9 at the 12:30 mark, when Southern Miss went on a 16-5 run over five minutes to take a 25-15 lead. East Carolina began to chip away at the 10-point lead, managing to cut the lead to three, 25-22, on seven unanswered points. Southern Miss held to take a 30-25 lead into intermission.
The second half started much like the first, with neither team getting much offense. Southern Miss got its first one from a free throw, while ECU answered with a three-pointer by Jackson. But not to be outdone, Lewis sank a three-pointer, giving Southern Miss a 34-28 lead with 16:28 remaining in the game. From there, ECU out scored Southern Miss 13-5, taking a 41-39 lead. East Carolina pushed its lead to five on three occasions and led 51-46 at the 5:12 mark.
Southern Miss, then, scored five unanswered points to tie the game, 51-51, with 2:51 remaining. Courtney Willis broke the tie, connecting on one-of-two free throws. On the Eagles' next possession, Lee had to put up a shot to avoid a shot clock violation, giving the ball back to ECU. The Lady Pirates got two shots before Wilson grabbed the rebound, but the Lady Eagles turned the ball over with 1:12 remaining. Jackson, then, hit the three-pointer, giving ECU a four-point lead, 55-51.
Southern Miss failed to score on its possession and had to foul, putting Keisha Anthony on the line and she made only one-of-two attempts. Tierra Lassiter hit a basket with 13 seconds remaining, cutting the lead to three, 56-53. The Eagles fouled Willis and she missed free throw attempts with 10 seconds remaining. The Eagles controlled the rebound and following a timeout, could not get the shot off.
Denise Wilson led Southern Miss with her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Lana Lewis added 11 points. Jackson led all scorers with a game-high 19 points, Willis scored 14 and Alisha Bishop chipped in 10.
The Lady Pirates will have a week off before returning to action at home against Charlotte on Sunday, Jan. 25. Tipoff at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum will be at 2 p.m.
