The week leading to Southern Miss’ historic win against No. 19 Ole Miss on Saturday may have been one of the most challenging for head coach Joye Lee-McNelis.
On Monday, McNelis buried her father, who passed away at the age of 87. The very next day, she received another round of chemotherapy treatment, which she postponed a day because of the funeral.
“It was kind of a crazy week for me, and it was a very emotional week for me,” McNelis said. “He was my hero. He was my first love, and he was the man that taught me about basketball.”
What surprised the McNelis the most during the ordeal of losing her father was that her coaching staff and the entire Lady Eagle team unexpectedly attended the funeral.
“Our entire team showed up, and I had no idea that they and our coaching staff were coming,” McNelis said. “It just smacked me emotionally. Then our entire sports information (department), our marketing staff, the athletic director, and other people from this university. They didn’t have to come. It’s a normal day for them, but for them to come definitely impacted me.”
The chemo treatment on Tuesday left her feeling ill from Thursday until the morning of Saturday’s tipoff.
“Thursday and Friday, I was very nauseous, very sick and very fatigued,” McNelis said. “On game day, I didn’t go to shootaround because I was so sick. I could barely lift my head off the pillow.
“I knew I would be here for the game. I’m so grateful to our staff to run that and have our focus. To be a part of that game was a true stamp on the week to bring a lot of joy to me and my family, but to so many other people because it was such a historic win.”
Despite it all, McNelis helped lead the Lady Eagles to overcome a second-half 11-point deficit to pull off their upset against their in-state rival. It was the first Top 25 victory for the program since 1999.
“Reflecting on the win Saturday, it makes you realize where this team can be," McNelis said.
DEFINING UPCOMING STRETCH
Since the win against Ole Miss, the Lady Eagles received votes in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls. The last time the program was ranked in the AP poll was at the end of the 1995-96 season.
Notably, in the first release of the NET rankings, Southern Miss stands at No. 82, which is the best mark in the Sun Belt. NET (NCAA evaluation tool) is the main metric to help the NCAA tournament selection committee inform its selection and seeding decisions.
The NET rankings use a quadrant system to determine quality wins and losses. All of Division I is divided into four rankings. Quadrant I games are the highest value opportunities. A game’s location and an opponent’s NET ranking carry the most weight. The rankings fluctuate throughout the season.
Here is a breakdown of the NET’s quadrant system:
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
Southern Miss, which holds a perfect 7-0 record, will have a chance to show that the win was not a strike of luck as two of the next three games on their schedule feature teams that are currently projected to make the NCAA tournament.
The final three opponents of nonconference play include Memphis (171), Cleveland State (89) and Florida Gulf Coast (78). Ole Miss’ net ranking was at No. 61. Cleveland State and FGCU, which is also receiving Top 25 votes, are both projected to win their conference.
“If we can go undefeated in December, then being in the Top 25 might happen,” McNelis said. There is no guarantee, but it might. We have to play undefeated in December.
“I think we can win the championship in the Sun Belt, and I think we can play in the NCAA tournament. I have felt that way prior to playing Ole Miss, but I knew some things had to fall into place.”
The Lady Eagles will face Cleveland State and FGCU in the Homewood Suites Classic tournament in Fort Myers, Florida.
MEMPHIS HOMECOMING
Southern Miss’ next game will be a homecoming for McNelis as the Lady Eagles will play Memphis first.
McNelis coached at Memphis for 13 seasons, leading the Tigers to four NCAA tournament appearances. It’ll be the first time McNelis has coached against her former program since 2013.
The Tigers (3-5) are victims of a difficult schedule after suffering losses to then No. 12 Tennessee, No. 19 Marquette, Arizona, Middle Tennessee and Troy. MTSU was picked to win the Conference USA, while Troy was picked ahead of USM in the Sun Belt preseason poll.
“Memphis can shoot the cover off the ball,” McNelis said. “At Memphis, we are going to face a team that is dual-threat, can shoot the three-ball, and score off the bounce. It provides a new test for us.”
The Lady Eagles will go on the road to play Memphis on Sunday, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
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