Lady Jags Smother Millsaps on Opening Night

The Southern University Lady Jaguars women’s basketball team began their season last Tuesday night, as they took on the Millsaps College Lady Majors at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. The Lady Jags came into the season looking to defend their regular season championship crown, with new head coach Carlos Funchess leading the way in his first season.
The first quarter saw the two squads exchanging buckets during the opening minutes, although the Southern defense quickly clamped down on any offensive momentum Millsaps attempted to start. The Lady Jags forced thirty turnovers on the night, including 20 steals, which led to numerous fastbreak chances down the stretch, which played a huge role in building an early lead. The second quarter was similar to the first in many ways, with the Lady Jags continuing to play smothering defense and force turnovers. The Lady Jags went 16-38 from the field and 5-12 from the three point line in the first half of play, taking a 23-10 advantage into the intermission.
“Everyone just had intensity and high effort, and we just played defense. We’re a defensive team, so we did what we do best,” said Cailan Williams, a freshman forward from Baton Rouge, LA, when asked about their defensive effort after the game.
The third quarter saw a somewhat closer contest between the two teams, as the Lady Majors scored a team high 13-points. Despite the feat, Millsaps was still outscored by the Lady Jags 20-13 in the third. The fourth quarter of play saw the defensive intensity of the Jags peak, as they held the Lady Majors to just three points.
When asked what she thought would translate well into future games for the Lady Jags, sophomore forward, Briana Thompson, had this to say about the team positives she believed would translate well to tougher competition, “Just good defense, transition defense, and just execution. We have some big teams coming up, but [if we do those things] we’ll be good.”
“With our depth and the way that we play, we try to push up and wear teams down. We’re going to play 12 to 13 players a game, and I thought that eventually wore them down,” said first-year Head Coach Carlos Funchess when asked about the intensity his girls played with on defense throughout the night.
The Lady Jags defeated Millsaps College 71-36 for their first win of the season behind stellar defense and brisk passing throughout the night.