by HATTIESBURG, Miss. – All twelve Lady Eagles found the basket with six finishing with double-figures as Southern Miss cruised to a 113-39 win over Blue Mountain Christian Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum. Freshman Ramiah “Moonie” Augurson led all scorers with 17 points as Southern Miss scored its most points since Feb. 19, 1995, and set a new program record with a 74-point margin of victory.
Southern Miss (3-0) won the opening tip but failed to covert on its first two possessions of the game. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) found the basket for the first points of the game just over a minute in. Southern Miss then seven of its next eight baskets to jump out to a 14-4 lead over Blue Mountain Christian (4-1). The Lady Toppers hit a three before going into the first media timeout of the game with Southern Miss leading 14-7.
The Lady Eagles found a groove and scored 11 of the quarter’s final 13 points to lead 25-9 at the start of the second quarter. Southern Miss’ offense did not rest as the Lady Eagles opened up a 17-2 run in the first five minutes of the second stanza. Before the Lady Toppers could blink, Southern Miss led 40-11, forcing BMC’s second timeout of the game.
A pair of Blue Mountain Christian free throws stopped their scoreless streak, but Southern Miss ended the first half on a 12-0 run to lead 54-15 at halftime. Neither team had a double-figure scorer at the half though 11 Lady Eagles found the basket. As a team, Southern Miss held a 60.5 percent field goal percentage and had hit just one three-pointer in the first 20 minutes of the game, starkly contrasted to the Lady Eagles’ average of 11.0 threes per game.
Southern Miss made up for lost time on the first possession of the second half as Hayleigh Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) grabbed double-figures and sparked a 16-0 run after the first of five-straight three-pointers in the first three minutes of the half. Southern Miss expanded its lead to 58 points before BMC could respond with a field goal, but the Lady Eagles were nowhere close to finished.
The Lady Eagles completely took over the game in the third, outscoring the Lady Toppers 41-12 in the frame. Southern Miss held a 68-point lead heading into the fourth quarter thanks to a 15-of-19 (78.9 percent) performance from the floor and a 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) mark beyond the arc.
Jakayla Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) sank the Lady Eagles eighth three of the game and seventh of the second half at the 8:59 mark in the fourth quarter to break 100 points for Southern Miss. Augurson (Monroe, La.) gave Southern Miss its first 110-point performance of the 21st-century with 1:28 to play as she secured her 16th and 17th points of the day.
Je’Mya Evans (Gulfport, Miss.) finished off the night to give Southern Miss its 113-point final, the sixth-most points in school history. Southern Miss also posted the eight-best field goal percentage (63.9 percent) and 11th-most field goals made (46) in the game. Evans’ 10 rebounds led both teams and assisted Southern Miss’ plus-30 rebounding margin (52-22).
