By Robert Wilson
Mississippi native Missy Bilderback is back in Mississippi and coaches her first regular season game as Southern Miss’ women basketball coach against Northern Illinois Monday at 6 p.m. in the Sun Belt Conference-Mid American Conference Challenge at Southern Miss’ Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg.
The Forrest County AHS High, Pearl River Community College and Southern Miss graduate replaced Joye Lee McNelis, who retired after 21 seasons as Southern Miss’ coach and passed away recently of cancer.
Bilderback comes to Southern Miss after two seasons at Louisiana-Monroe, her first Division I head coaching job.
She has had success at the high school level (16 years at Presbyterian Christian School), junior college level (eight years at Jones County Junior College) and Division I level (two years at Louisiana-Monroe). Bilderback won three state championships and two Overall Tournament titles at PCS, made seven consecutive trips to the NJCAA Tournament, including a Final Four finish, at JCJC, and led ULM to its first winning season in 14 years, won 21 games and had the best season in 20 years at the school in her first year at ULM two years ago. “I am excited to start the ‘25-26 season,” Bilderback said. “I am very pleased with our team’s commitment, efforts, and work this preseason. They are great young people and I can’t wait to see where this seasons journey takes us.”
Bilderback is married to Chip Bilderback, who is the football coach at Columbia High where he had previously coached. The couple has one son, Drew. Missy’s father, Perry Wheat, is one of the most successful high school football coaches in Mississippi history, with 280 wins in 40 seasons with stops at Seminary, Forrest County AHS, Magee, Columbia Academy, Perry Central and Purvis and retired in 2017.
In addition to Bilderback being from Mississippi and coaching in Mississippi, the Lady Golden Eagles have several Mississippians on this year’s roster, which has 10 new players.
The biggest name is Clinton High alumnus and Louisiana-Monroe transfer Jakayla Johnson, a graduate student who was a Sun Belt first-team selection on the preseason team. She averaged 15.8 points – third best in the Sun Belt – and earned first-team Sun Belt last season. Johnson finished in the Top Ten in the league free throw percentage (first), in field goal percentage (seventh), assists (eighth), assist-to-turnover ratio (eighth) and steals (ninth). She played for Bilderback her freshman and sophomore years at Jones County Junior College and her junior year at Auburn before transferring to ULM. Johnson layed for Pearlanne Fairley at Clinton.
Choctaw Central High alumnus and ULM transfer Meloney Thames, a graduate student who was a Sun Belt third-team selection. She averaged 13.1 points (ninth in the Sun Belt) and 1.9 3-pointers per game (seventh in the Sun Belt) last season. Thames also played two years for Bilderback at JCJC and spent one fall at Mississippi State before transferring to ULM. She played for Bill Smith at Choctaw Central.
Two more ULM transfers who are from Mississippi on the Southern Miss roster are West Jones High alumnus Brikayla Gray, a graduate student, and Leake Academy alumnus Miriam Prince, a junior.
Gray played her first two seasons at Southern Miss before transferring to ULM. She played for Sharon Pendarvis at West Jones.
Prince played her freshman year at East Central CC and averaged 16.3 points, third in the state. She played for Amanda Hatch at Leake.
Another new player is Harrison Central High alumnus and Mississippi State transfer Anaisha Carriere, a 6-foot-3 sophomore. She played her freshman year at MSU. Carriere played for Nancy Ladner at Harrison Central.
Harrison Central High alumnus Je’Mya Evans, a senior, is one of two players who are returning from last year’s team. Evans played her first two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. She played for Nancy Ladner at Harrison Central.
Southern Miss is picked fifth in the Sun Belt in the preseason polls and Northern Illinois is picked 13th in the Mid-American.
There will be a pregame ceremony honoring the lives of Lady Eagle basketball legends Joye Lee-McNelis and Janice Felder, who each passed away this offseason following battles with cancer.
McNelis was a player, assistant coach and head coach at Southern Miss a combined 21 seasons. She was named the recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, and the 2025 USA TODAY Mississippi Woman of the Year.
The Hancock North Central High alumnus was considered the best guard in Mississippi coming out of high school. When she finished her playing career at Southern Miss, McNelis was second in career scoring in school history. She averaged 19.7 points as a senior and led the Lady Golden Eagles, who were the highest scoring team in the country.
As an assistant, McNelis helped Southern Miss to three NCAA Tournaments, two Metro Conference Tournament Titles and a regular season championship.
She became head coach at Memphis State in 1991 at 28 years old. McNelis coached at Memphis for 13 seasons and led Memphis to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She is the last coach to take Memphis to an NCAA Tournament (1995).
McNelis won 339 games, one conference title, two Western Division titles, and seven 20-win seasons in 21 seasons at Southern Miss retiring in February this season.
Felder is considered the greatest player in Southern Miss history. She was named first-team All-American as a senior in 1994, the only women’s player in school history to receive this honor. She was one of two players to earn three Metro Conference Player of the Year awards.
She played at South Pike High and went she left to come to Southern Miss she was the second all-time scorer in Mississippi history and was a third team All-American.
Felder is the only women’s player in school history to have her jersey retired.
She coached at Jones County Junior College, Southern Miss and South Pike until she retired from coaching in 2016.
