by HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Carly Keats posted a career-high 23 points and six three-pointers as Southern Miss women’s basketball continued its undefeated start to the 2025-26 season in an 86-60 win over Nicholls. A crowd of 3,121 packed into Reed Green Coliseum as the Lady Eagles hosted their Native American Heritage Game presented by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and Bok Homa Casino.
Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) finished 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) from the floor and 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from three to lead all scorers with 23 points. She also dished out three assists and grabbed three steals on the day. Southern Miss (6-0) shot 12-of-30 (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc for the third-most threes in school history and most since 2014.
Southern Miss never trailed as Keats finished a trip the charity stripe with a make to give the Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead at 8:46 in the first quarter. The Lady Eagles scored the first seven points of the game before Nicholls (3-3) found the basket after opening the first three-and-a-half minutes without a make.
The Colonels fought to stay in the game, coming within five points later in the frame and trailing just 17-9 at the end of the first quarter. With six minutes to go in the first half, Nicholls cut the Lady Eagle lead to just two. However, a Keats three-pointer on the next possession sparked a 30-14 Lady Eagle run to end the second quarter.
Combined, the two teams scored 54 points in the second frame and shot 22-of-41 (53.6 percent) from the floor. Keats had 11 points in the quarter alone as seven Lady Eagles combined to score 32 points in the 10-minute frame to give Southern Miss a 49-31 lead at the half.
Southern Miss forced 15 Nicholls turnovers in the first half and held an 18-of-38 (47.4 percent) mark from the floor. The Lady Eagles had six three-point baskets in the half and led by 18 entering the locker rooms.
The Lady Eagles scored first out of the half to take a 22-point lead less than two minutes into the third quarter, the largest of the game thus far. Nicholls chipped into the lead briefly before a 7-0 run gave Southern Miss a 24-point margin once again to lead 69-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
A Miriam Prince (Philadelphia, Miss.) three-point basket gave the Lady Eagles the largest lead of the day with a 79-50 score with five minutes left in the game. Cooling off from the fast-paced second quarter, Southern Miss scored 37 second half points to Nicholls’ 29 to close out the game.
As a team, Southern Miss finished 31-of-77 (40.3 percent) overall and 12-of-30 (40.0 percent) on the day. Southern Miss also grabbed 53 rebounds and forced 24 turnovers in the day. Three Lady Eagles finished with double-figure efforts led by Keats’ 23 and followed by Meloney Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), who each scored 12. Thames also led Southern Miss with eight rebounds.
