Women's college basketball game erupts into massive melee, 5 players and 3 fans ejected

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Five players and three fans were ejected from Thursday night’s game between Southern Miss and Arkansas State after a massive melee broke out in the first half that saw players and coaches being brought down to the ground and several punches being thrown.  

The skirmish caused a 23-minute delay in the second quarter as officials determined which players would likely be tossed from the game. 

Southern Miss Lady Eagles guard Domonique Davis, #2, during a college womens basketball game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the South Alabama Jaguars at Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama. (Bobby McDuffie/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The fight began when Arkansas State forward Emma Imevbore grabbed a defensive rebound in traffic and got tangled with Domonique Davis. Imevbore appeared to push Davis to the floor and then appeared to throw several punches at Brikayla Gray in front of the Southern Miss bench.

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Southern Miss forward Asjha Leake, who was on the bench at the time, appeared to jump in with several other players and pulled Imevbore to the floor by her neck. 

Southern Miss assistant coach Jessica Barber was knocked over by the fight and was seemingly stuck beneath the pileup. 

"This could get ugly – it has gotten ugly," one of the broadcasters on ESPN said. 

As the fight was winding down, several fans came down from the stands and got involved. 

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"I can’t really comment because I have to follow conference guidelines, I just think it’s very, very, very unfortunate.