Jan. 30, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss women's basketball team plays the second of a five-game homestand, when the Lady Eagles take on East Carolina Thursday at 7 p.m.

The game is designated as Forrest County Night. Hattiesburg Public officials will be able to get into the game for free, but will need to RSVP to the women's basketball office (601-266-6444).

The game will be broadcasted over WXHB-FM 96.5 with the "Voice of the Lady Eagles" Jason Baker providing play-by-play action with former coach Kay James as the color analyst.

Southern Miss (11-8, 2-4) comes into the game, following an 82-64 win over UCF, snapping a four-game losing streak. In that game, Southern Miss had two players record double-doubles, led by Pauline Love's 19 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Stephanie Helgeson, who added her first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Tanesha Washington earned her first start against the Knights and responded with a 17-point performance. Andrea Barber tied her season-high in assists with 12. Brittany Johnson came off the bench to chip in 11 points.

Love continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.7 and 11.4, respectively, while two other Lady Eagles average double figures scoring as Kendra Reed is at 10.5 and Helgeson is at 10.2. Barber leads the team in assists with 6.1 per game. She became one of three players in the league with 100 or more assists during the season.

As a team, the Lady Eagles are averaging 73.2 points and 41.5 rebounds, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the line. Southern Miss has connected on 104-of-290 threes for 35.9 percent.

East Carolina (8-11, 2-4) is coming off a thrilling, 59-57, win over Marshall, in which Jasmine Young hit a layup with 1.5 seconds remaining for the win. LaCoya Terry led the way with 18 points and Young added 11.

Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener is in her sixth season at the helm of the East Carolina program. Baldwin-Tener guided ECU to the team's best finish since the 1991-92 season, after going 19-14 in 2006-07 and leading the Lady Pirates to the programs first-ever Conference USA Tournament Championship. Jasmine Young is one of only three players in Conference USA with 100 or more assists.

Young and Terry lead the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points and 14.2 points, respectively. Nicole Days leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 boards per game.

As a team, the Lady Pirates are averaging 66.1 points and 39.6 rebounds, while shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 61.8 percent from the line. This is the ninth meeting between the two teams and the series is tied at 4-4. The teams split the series last season, each team winning on the road.

Following the ECU game, Southern Miss continues its homestand, hosting Marshall, Feb. 2, in the "Pack The House" game. Tickets for that game will be available $1. Fans will receive Mardi Gras beads and the game also is designated as Hancock County Night.