Nov. 29, 2008

Box Score

|Complete Release in PDF Format |Belmont-Alcorn State Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Michigan duo of Jessica Minnfield and Stephany Skrba scored 23 and 20 points, respectively in leading the Wolverines past Southern Miss, 61-51, in the championship game of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Saturday.

Sophomore Tanesha Washington came off the bench to lead Southern Miss (3-3) in scoring with 15 points with Pauline Love chipping in 10 points.

"We've made some steps in the right direction," Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "Yes, we wanted to win this game, but we played a very good Michigan team that has been battled tested. They (Michigan) beat Vanderbilt, who was picked to win the SEC and a three-point loss to No. 8 Texas A&M. They are seasoned basketball players who do a great job of playing well together. They find each other, you double-down on the low block; they hit each other for the three. I can't say enough about how good this team is. For our team to play them to a 10-point game also says a lot about how far we have come."

The Lady Eagles led only once in the game and that was on the opening basket by Amber Eugene. Michigan answered with a three-pointer and a basket putting the visitors up 5-2. Southern Miss tied the game at 5-5 on a Love three-pointer, but Carly Benson put the Wolverines up by three on a three-pointer, 8-5, at the 16:13 mark. After Love responded with a basket, Skrba connected on a jumper in the paint, pushing the lead back to three points, 10-7. Stephanie Helgeson got the Lady Eagles within a point on a basket.

"Are we where we want to be, no," said McNelis. "Could we have beaten Michigan? Yes, because we were always in striking distance. We got it to a two-possession game with five minutes to go in the game. We just couldn't recover. I believe we are so close, but we are so far away to make the steps we need to make to get things rolling."

From there, both teams hit a drought that lasted over four minutes, until Skrba completed a three-point play the old-fashion way. Southern Miss battled back to tie the game three more times over the next five minutes with the last coming at 23-23 at the 2:28 mark before the half. Michigan then closed out the half on a 7-0 run. The Wolverines led 30-23 at the half.

Michigan eventually pushed its lead to nine points on the first basket to start the half. Southern Miss then used a 7-2 run to cut the lead to four, 34-30, at the 15:04 mark, but Michigan quickly responded with a Minnfield three-pointer, pushing the lead back to seven, 37-30. Helgeson then connected on a three to get the Lady Eagles within four points again.

Over the next four minutes, Michigan used a mini-run outscoring Southern Miss, 8-4, to take an eight-point lead, 45-37. The Lady Eagles countered with a 6-0 run, cutting the lead to two points, 45-43, with 7:39 remaining. Michigan then scored six unanswered points of its own until Washington hit a three with 3:39 remaining to get within five, 51-46.

Southern Miss threatened only once more, cutting the lead to five, 53-48, with 2:06, but Michigan quickly dashed any hopes of a comeback, scoring six straight points to give the visitors an 11-point edge.

Neither team shot very well from the field with Michigan going 20-of-52 for 38.5 percent and Southern Miss 17-of-47 for 36.2 percent.

In the consolation game, Belmont defeated Alcorn State, 77-65. Amber Rockwell of Belmont (3-2) led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, followed by Casy Burnett with 15 and LaWanna Holiday chipped in 10 points.

Four players from Alcorn (0-6) scored in double figures with Ashley Hawkins scoring 19 points, followed by Corneshia Hollis with 16, Sharnika Breedlove had 12 and Iyanna Brown chipped in 10.

Minnfield was voted the MVP of the tournament with teammates Skrba and Benson garnering all-tournament honors. Love and Washington from Southern Miss earned all-tournament honors as well and Belmont's Amber Rockwell rounded out the final spot on the all-tournament team.

Southern Miss returns to action when the Lady Eagles hit the road for a game at Arkansas-Little Rock, Dec. 3. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m., and can be heard on WXHB-FM 96.5.