McNelis earns her 300th win as a Lady Eagle

Story from USM Athletics:

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis surpasses another milestone as a head coach, reaching the 300-win plateau in a 77-57 victory over Sun Belt foe ULM.

Tale of the Tape
Southern Miss (12-5, 5-1 Sun Belt) opened the game with the team’s best first quarter performance of the year, dropping 20 points on the Warhawks (6-11, 2-4 Sun Belt). However, ULM did their best to keep up, scoring 17 to trail by three.

The Lady Eagles opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the quarter to take a 39-29 lead into the intermission. Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La. // LSU) lead all scorers with nine points.

True to form, Southern Miss outscored ULM 20-14 in the third quarter as the Lady Eagles continue to pound opponents in third frame. Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss. // Hattiesburg HS) scored nine of her 11 points in the third period.

The Lady Eagles’ starters made their final bow in the fourth quarter and the bench held extended the Lady Eagle lead to 20 points. Davis led both teams with 14 points and Chardai Watkins (Panola, Ala. // Sumter Central HS) notched her second start on the year by bringing down nine rebounds.

300
Coach McNelis joins a special club of coaches to earn 300 wins at one program, becoming the 113th coach in the history of DI women’s basketball. Southern Miss becomes the sixth program with two coaches surpassing 300 wins at the DI level, joining Rutgers, Duke, Maryland, Miami and James Madison.

Coach McNelis is only one of 12 coaches to reach 200 or more wins at two different programs and is the 29th active head coach to pass the 300 mark at their current institution.