Georgia Southern University
16-5,9-2Sun Belt
Southern Miss
11-10,4-6Sun Belt
Cleaveland's Three Gives Eagles 70-67 Win Over Southern Miss
1/28/2026 8:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Freshman hits game-winning shot with 6.5 seconds remaining; Kishyah Anderson hits for 31
STATESBORO - Freshman Kayla Cleaveland drilled a three-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to give Georgia Southern women's basketball a 70-67 Sun Belt Conference victory over visiting Southern Miss on Wednesday evening at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center.
The host Eagles improved to 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Southern Miss falls to 11-10 overall and 4-6 in the league. Georgia Southern matches its win total from last season with the win and defends its newly-minted No. 20 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid Major Top 25 poll, released late Tuesday.
Georgia Southern led by 16 points, 41-25, at the break thanks in large part to 19 first-half points from Kishyah Anderson. The Eagles led by as many as 18 early in the second half, but Southern Miss battled back to get within one point, 58-57, with 4:34 left in the game after a three-pointers from Carly Keats.
Both teams each scored baskets on the next eight possessions, keeping it a one-score game with under a minute to play. The Lady Eagles got a stop with a shot clock violation with 54.1 seconds left, getting the ball down two, 67-65. Jakayla Johnson made two free throws with 33 seconds left to tie the game at 67-all, setting the stage for Cleaveland's go-ahead three-pointer.
Southern Miss had a last chance at the buzzer to tie but Meloney Thames' three-pointer missed off to the left, giving the Eagles their 10th win at home in 11 tries this season.
Anderson led all scorers on the night with 31 points for the Eagles, while Destiny Garrett added 16 points. Three Southern Miss players reached double figures, led by Keats' 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 three-pointers.
Eagle of the Game
Anderson notched her first 30+ point performance as an Eagle by hitting 14-of-22 shots from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range. She is one of only five Eagles to make 14 field goals in a game and she added five rebounds and three assists - her final assist coming on the game-winning three-pointer by Cleaveland.
Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern outrebounded Southern Miss by a 38-34 margin in the game. The Eagles are now 8-0 this season when outrebounding their opponents.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the victory over Southern Miss
"I'm really proud of our team for toughing that one out tonight. We had a really good first half, but in the second half Southern Miss got really hot. Number 21 [Keats] was unconscious and made some really really tough shots. Then offensively, I thought we lost our flow."
On the game-winning three by Kayla Cleaveland
"Big moments are made from big opportunities and for anyone to knock down that shot, especially a freshman, that takes a lot of courage to even shoot that and it's just a huge play to make. Kayla has made a ton of great plays already in her freshman year and she's got a really bright future."
Next Up
Georgia Southern next hosts first-place Arkansas State on Saturday, January 31, in a 2 p.m. tilt at The Hill as the Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Game of the Week.
