Southern Miss Lady Eagles Basketball Coach Joye Lee-McNelis was named Conference USA’s Coach of the Year for the 2016-17 season. During the season, McNelis eclipsed 200 total wins at Southern Miss, bringing her win total at Southern Miss to 213 and 442 wins overall as a head coach.
Earlier this year, tests revealed a small mass in McNelis’s left lung. She was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma that is contained. McNelis will undergo surgery this month in order to remove the mass.
McNelis is confident in her fight: “I am really proud of how this team has overachieved this year and how they’d fought extremely hard,” she said. “In return, I will have the same fight as I face this adversity over the next few weeks. I know that God is in control and, with the prayers of many, good things will come. I have the utmost confidence in Coach Kiley Hill and my staff and know they will lead this team in a way that would make all of our Southern Miss fans proud. Our community is blessed to have great medical resources and people who will help in any way possible.”
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