Thursday, January 16
Denton
7 PM
University of North Texas
-710,14 CUSA
57
vs
65
Southern Miss
-114,31 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
24
14
9
18
65
North Texas
19
16
13
9
57
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
Mean Green lose to Southern Miss
1/16/2020 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DENTON – After taking the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Mean Green went cold from the field and scored just three points throughout the final eight minutes in a 65-57 loss to Southern Miss on Thursday night.
North Texas (7-10, 1-4 C-USA) knocked down three consecutive shots to open the fourth quarter and give themselves a 54-49 lead. From that moment on, the Mean Green struggled to find the bottom of the net.
North Texas missed its next eight shots and committed six turnovers during an eight-minute scoring drought that saw the Golden Eagles (11-4, 3-1 C-USA) go on a 16-0 run to ice the game.
"The momentum just shifted right after that moment we took the lead," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "And then I thought we didn't handle the lead very well. We just did not take care of the ball, and we turned it over in transition."
After knocking off Western Kentucky in the opening game of Conference USA play, the Mean Green have now dropped four consecutive contests. North Texas has lost those four games by just six points per contest and have had chances to convert the close losses into wins.
"We do these game situations in practice and try to learn more and grow," Mitchell said. "We clearly just have to do more of it and make sure we do a better job closing out games."
Southern Miss entered Thursday tied atop of Conference USA in steals per game (10.5), and on Thursday night the Golden Eagles' aggressive defense was on display. Southern Miss forced 19 turnovers and racked up 12 steals.
Freshman guard Randi Thompson shined for UNT. Thompson followed her 25-point outing last Saturday with a team high 15 points in the loss to Southern Miss. She hit 50% of her 3-pointers in the first half.
Anisha George added 13 points for UNT, and N'Yah Boyd finished with eight points, six rebounds and six assists. Charlene Shepherd added another nine points and three rebounds.
The Mean Green, who have been known for a stout defense under Mitchell, gave up a season high 24 first quarter points to open up the game. Southern Miss shot 50% from the floor and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the first period.
Southern Miss forward Respect Leaphart gave the Mean Green defense fits in the paint during the first half. Leaphart scored 18 points and racked up seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite the hot start from the Golden Eagles, North Texas managed to keep pace with a solid offensive performance of its own. Before the cold streak hit in the fourth period, the Mean Green were shooting 50% from the field and were perfect from the free throw line.
North Texas will return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host Louisiana Tech at The Super Pit.
North Texas (7-10, 1-4 C-USA) knocked down three consecutive shots to open the fourth quarter and give themselves a 54-49 lead. From that moment on, the Mean Green struggled to find the bottom of the net.
North Texas missed its next eight shots and committed six turnovers during an eight-minute scoring drought that saw the Golden Eagles (11-4, 3-1 C-USA) go on a 16-0 run to ice the game.
"The momentum just shifted right after that moment we took the lead," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "And then I thought we didn't handle the lead very well. We just did not take care of the ball, and we turned it over in transition."
After knocking off Western Kentucky in the opening game of Conference USA play, the Mean Green have now dropped four consecutive contests. North Texas has lost those four games by just six points per contest and have had chances to convert the close losses into wins.
"We do these game situations in practice and try to learn more and grow," Mitchell said. "We clearly just have to do more of it and make sure we do a better job closing out games."
Southern Miss entered Thursday tied atop of Conference USA in steals per game (10.5), and on Thursday night the Golden Eagles' aggressive defense was on display. Southern Miss forced 19 turnovers and racked up 12 steals.
Freshman guard Randi Thompson shined for UNT. Thompson followed her 25-point outing last Saturday with a team high 15 points in the loss to Southern Miss. She hit 50% of her 3-pointers in the first half.
Anisha George added 13 points for UNT, and N'Yah Boyd finished with eight points, six rebounds and six assists. Charlene Shepherd added another nine points and three rebounds.
The Mean Green, who have been known for a stout defense under Mitchell, gave up a season high 24 first quarter points to open up the game. Southern Miss shot 50% from the floor and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the first period.
Southern Miss forward Respect Leaphart gave the Mean Green defense fits in the paint during the first half. Leaphart scored 18 points and racked up seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite the hot start from the Golden Eagles, North Texas managed to keep pace with a solid offensive performance of its own. Before the cold streak hit in the fourth period, the Mean Green were shooting 50% from the field and were perfect from the free throw line.
North Texas will return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host Louisiana Tech at The Super Pit.
Team Stats
USM
UNT
FG%
.422
.458
3FG%
.300
.250
FT%
.889
.875
RB
34
30
TO
10
19
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Point Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Post
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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