Jan. 5, 2001

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker Friday night at Halton Arena, falling to C-USA foe Southern Miss, 74-72. The 49ers, who nearly earned their first win ever against the Golden Eagles, rallied from a 17-point deficit with under seven minutes to play to within two points in the game's final minute.

Three players reached double figures in scoring for Southern Miss (7-5, 1-1 C-USA), led by Victoria Mason's 23 points. Tonya Phifer paced Charlotte (4-8, 0-2 C-USA) with a game-high 24 points. It was the 49ers' first loss of the year when Phifer scored more than 20. Adrienne Jordan played her first minutes of the season for the Niners, scoring five and pulling down five rebounds in 16 minutes. She had missed the first 11 games of the season with a partially torn ACL.

The Golden Eagles owned two 17-point leads in the second half. The first one came on a Janique Williams basket with 13:11 to play, which gave her team a 55-38 advantage. The 49ers cut that deficit to 10, 55-45, on an Emily Faught steal and Jordan field goal with 9:52 left. Southern Miss countered with a 10-3 run, capped by a pair of Krystal Courtney free throws. Courtney's two points from the charity stripe gave the Golden Eagles their second 17-point lead, 65-48, with 6:53 left in regulation. Charlotte quickly went to work, pulling to within nine with 4:56 remaining on a Phifer field goal. After exchanging baskets and down 10 with a 1:44 to play, Charlotte ended the game with a 12-4 run, coming up just short of the win.

The 49ers to action Sunday, when they play at Tulane. Their next home game is Sunday, Jan. 14, when they host Saint Louis at 1:00 in Halton Arena.