North Texas Daily

North Texas women’s basketball completed the two-game sweep of the University of Southern Mississippi Saturday afternoon in a 72-64 score where sophomore guards N’Yah Boyd and Quincy Noble accounted for 38 points combined.  

The Mean Green’s (11-4, 8-2 Conference USA) second and fourth quarters were the equalizer as North Texas shot 60 percent (6-for-10) in field goal percentage and 77.8 percent (7-for-9) in the fourth quarter. For the third consecutive game, North Texas has scored at least 20 points or more in two quarters. 

With the sweep over Southern Miss (6-8, 4-8 C-USA), North Texas ties a program record for wins among Conference USA competition since joining in 2013. 

“We had to really tough this one out,” Head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “We had to get some big stops, make some big shots and step to the line and convert. The second quarter was better than it had been the last couple of games, but I think it was a slow start.”

Game one Friday evening ended in North Texas’ favor in a 76-55 score where Noble led the Mean Green offense with 21 points and the defense held the Lady Eagles offense to a 30.3 shooting percentage (20-for-66). 

In opposite fashion from Friday, Southern Miss started the game with a 22-15 lead by the end of the first quarter. Southern Miss senior guard Jalise Smallwood, junior center Kelsey Jones and freshman guard Kahia Warmsley combined for 15 points in the opening frame. 

North Texas inched its way back to take the lead late in the second quarter on an 8-0 run where senior forward Madi Townley started with a jumper and a free throw, a 3-pointer and two successful free throws by Boyd to go up 35-33 under one minute to play. With 10 seconds remaining Warmsley knotted things up at 35 apiece going into halftime. The Mean Green outscored the Lady Eagles 20-13 in the second quarter.

Both offenses struggled in the third quarter as each team scored nine points and ended the quarter at a 44-44 score. North Texas was held to 18.8 percent (3-for-16) shooting and Southern Miss was able to make 3-of-9 shots while shooting 37.5 percent in free throws (3-for-8). 

More scoring occurred in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined for 48 points, the Mean Green outscoring the Lady Eagles 28-20. 

Boyd started the fourth frame on a 3-pointer giving North Texas a 47-44 lead, where Warmsley responded with an and-one 3-point play to tie it at 47-47. Noble put North Texas ahead by five scoring all five points on her own making a layup and three free throws.

With 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter North Texas padded its lead to seven points and Smallwood banked a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession contest at 68-64. The Mean Green added four points via free throws in the final minute from junior forward Rochelle Lee and Noble to close out a 72-64 win.   

Boyd led the offense with 22 points and Noble scoring 16. Townley led the team with 10 rebounds and four assists, her second consecutive game with 10 rebounds.

Southern Miss was led by Smallwood offensively with 16 points, Grayson with 10 rebounds (who also had 10 points to fulfill a double-double performance) and junior guard Daishai Almond with four assists.

“I told our players at our walkthrough that Southern Miss is always better the second day,” Mitchell said. “Thankfully, we’ve been in this situation before, and it ended up working out for us.”

Up Next: North Texas will travel to Western Kentucky University (6-12, 5-7 C-USA) Feb. 19 and 20. The Lady Toppers fell victim to a sweep by Rice University 64-55 Friday and 77-74 Saturday. 

Fearured Image: Sophomore guard N’Yah Boyd shoots a three-point shot during a game against the University of Southern Mississippi on Feb. 13, 2021. Image by Zach Del Bello