by HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women’s basketball rode a 30-point performance from Jakayla Johnson to down Troy (11-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) 98-95 on Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum. Both team’s starters finished with double-figure scoring efforts as the two teams combined for 193 total points and 162 total shots.
Johnson (Clinton, Miss.) led both teams with 30 points, reaching the 30-point mark for the sixth time in her career. She has now scored 20 points or more in all four Sun Belt Conference games and leads the league with 24.0 points per game in league play.
Troy got the opening tip and the first points of the game with South Alabama transfer Rachel Leggett accounting for the game’s first five points. Carly Keats (Philadelphia, Miss.) got Southern Miss (10-5, 3-1 Sun Belt) on the board two minutes in before another Leggett jumper forced a Southern Miss timeout. Johnson got her first points of the day on the next possession before Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) made it a one-point game.
The Trojans regrouped and used a 7-0 lead to take their largest lead of the day with 4:52 left in the first quarter. Southern Miss worked its way back into the game and trailed by one after a buzzer-beater three from Johnson. White scored on the first possession of the second quarter to give Southern Miss its first lead of the day. The teams traded the lead five times in the quarter but Southern Miss led for over eight minutes of the frame.
The Lady Eagles managed to lead by as many as six points in the frame after a Morgan Sieper (Tampa, Fla.) jumper made the score 30-24 in favor of Southern Miss. Troy clawed back to tie the game at 41-all with 1:37 left and tied the game on three different occasions down the remainder of the half. Johnson drove through the lane and finished off an and-one to give Southern Miss a 49-46 lead heading into halftime.
Southern Miss shot 50.0 percent (20-of-40) from the field in the half while Troy finished with a 46.2 percent (18-of-39) mark. The Lady Eagles had outscored the Trojans in the paint 28-20 but were just 3-of-12 from the arc in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Troy sank its seventh three of the game on the first possession of the third quarter to tie the game once again at 49-49. Keats responded on the ensuing possession to grab the lead before Hayleigh Breland (Wiggins, Miss.) extended the margin with a basket and free throw. Troy took the lead back with 8:10 left in the frame with a Zay Dyer basket before Breland again snatched the lead.
The two teams traded baskets before a three from Johnson gave Southern Miss a 72-62 lead with 3:19 remaining in the third quarter. The 10-point margin was the Lady Eagles’ largest of the day and provided just enough cushion for the remainder of the game. Up 76-68 at the end of the third quarter, Meloney Thames (Philadelphia, Miss.) hit a basket to make the margin 78-68.
Keats drilled another three to pull the Lady Eagle lead to 81-72 before Troy strung together seven unanswered points while holding Southern Mis scoreless for nearly three minutes. Keats found nylon again, draining a three to keep the game in favor of Southern Miss, 84-79.
Troy ran off another five unanswered to tie the game at 84-84 with 4:42 left to play. Johnson hit a pair of free throws to give Southern Miss the lead for good, though Troy kept swinging. Three pointers from Thames and Johnson on back-to-back possessions forced Troy to take a timeout down 95-88. Out of the timeout, Troy pulled within three points once again with a minute to play.
Southern Miss gained a crucial possession back on appeal with 48.2 second left and Johnson drove through the paint to give Southern Miss a 97-92 margin with 46 second left. Southern Miss gave up a three on Troy’s next possession before the Trojans sent Johnson to the free throw line with 10 seconds left to play.
After missing her first, Johnson sank her second free throw to give her 30 points on the night and Southern Miss 98. Most importantly, the Trojans now needed a three-point basket to tie. Troy shot from deep with two seconds left and got the offensive rebound but was unable to put up a shot before time expired.
Southern Miss escaped with a 98-95 bounce back victory after falling to Arkansas State, 91-83, in their last time out. All five Lady Eagle starters notched in double-figure with Johnson (30) leading the way. She was joined by Keats (16), Breland (13), Thames (13) and White (12). Southern Miss set a new program record for most points scored in the a Sun Belt Conference game since joining the league four seasons ago.
