Floyd’s Big Second Half Propels Clemson Past Ole Miss, 71-63

Nov. 22, 1999

CLEMSON. S.C. — Freshman guard Chrissy Floyd came off the bench to score 15 points, including 11 in the second half, to lead Clemson to a 71-63 women’s basketball victory over Mississippi Monday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson improved to 2-0 with the victory, while Mississippi fell to 1-1. The Lady Rebels had beaten Memphis earlier. Clemson will now travel to Hartford, CT for the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament against Old Dominion on Wednesday evening.

Floyd, playing in just her second game, led Clemson with 15 points on 6-11 shooting. The native of Laurens, SC also had two assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Four starters were in double figures for the Lady Tigers. Erin Batth, who fouled out after playing just 17 minutes, had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Nuria Forns contributed 12 points, including a pair of three-point goals, and added six rebounds, all defensive. Kyrstal Scott added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Datishella Byrd had the first double-double of her career with 10 points and a career high 12 rebounds.

Mississippi was led by Becky Myatt with 16 points, while center Frankie Boyd contributed 15 points and seven rebounds. Overall, Clemson did a fine job on the 6-4 center from Ethel, MS. Boyd had scored 27 points in the season opening Mississippi victory over Memphis.

Clemson won the battle of the boards 48-46 and committed just 12 turnovers. Clemson also outshot the Lady Rebels from the field, 40 percent to 32 percent. Ole Miss took 34 three-point goals out of its 66 shot attempts. Clemson made 5 of its 14 three-point attempts.

Mississippi led 34-33 at intermission behind the the shooting of Myatt, who scored 11 points in the first half thanks to three three-point goals. Boyd added nine points in the opening half. But, Clemson put the clamps on Myatt in the second half, holding the junior guard from Tennessee to just five points, three of which came on a meaningless three-point goal in the last nine seconds.

Floyd made a big impact in the second half. With the score 46-44 in favor of Clemson, she made a steal at midcourt and drove for a bucket. She then scored from underneath to give the Lady Tigers a 50-44 lead.

Mississippi battled back and took a 55-53 lead after Batth, Clemson’s most experienced player, fouled out. But, Clemson went on a 18-8 run to close the game. Floyd scored seven straight points, including a three-point goal with 3:09 left to give Clemson a 60-57 lead. Nuria Forns then built the lead to 62-57 on a short jumper. Forns’s three-point goal with 55 seconds left gave Clemson a 67-60 and the Lady Tigers were not threatened after that.