Marshall University Athletics
Herd Drops OGBM Legends in Final Preseason Exhibition Game
11/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Herd Drops OGBM Legends in Final Preseason Exhibition Game
11/11/2003
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? The Thundering Herd women?s basketball team, led by a 14-point, 16-rebound performance from senior Catie Knable (Floyd Knobs, Ind.), concluded its preseason schedule with a 53-44 victory over the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine Legends on Tuesday at the Cam Henderson Center.
Knable dominated the defensive glass with 13 boards and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line to guide Marshall to a 2-0 final record in its exhibition season.
?We improved a lot from our first exhibition game,? Knable, a forward/center, said. ?We wanted to focus on defense tonight, our offense may not have been there but our defense was good.?
The OGBM Legends, a team comprised of former collegiate stars and some current WNBA talent, were held to shooting 12-for-57 from the field (21.1%). Helen Darling, a Cleveland Rockers? guard, scored a game-high 21 points and was 4-for-14 from three-point land and 7-for-12 from the line.
The up-and-down tempo seemed to favor the younger Herd squad, but also forced them into a slew of turnovers. The veteran Legends? defensive schemes caused 26 MU turnovers, but the Herd was able to lead by as many as 15 points with only four minutes remaining in the game after a Kim Griffin (Valdosta, Ga.) free throw.
Two Marshall freshmen got the starting nod in guard Teyonka Hodge (Washington, D.C.) and forward KaShawna Curry (Huntington, W.Va.). Hodge logged 35 minutes and recorded three steals and two assists while Curry posted four points in 13 minutes.
?Our freshmen showed that they were freshmen, but they stayed after it and that?s a plus,? Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick said.
?It wasn?t pretty, but it?s a W,? Chadwick said. ?It?s a confidence builder and that?s what we need for our youngsters. Our seniors did a great job of leading tonight.?
Sophomore guard Sikeetha Shepard-Hall (Houston, Texas) registered 10 points and a game-high four assists on the evening.
Marshall will have 10 days to prepare for its season-opening tournament, hosted by the Herd on Nov. 21-22, in the Fifth Third MU Classic. Morgan State will provide MU with its first contest of 2003-04, while High Point and Murray State fill the rest of the field.
Prior to Tuesday's contest, the Herd family received good news from its season ticket drive personnel. Marshall's two-week effort now has the Herd standing at 740 season tickets for the 2003-04 campaign, the school's all-time high for women's basketball.
