Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Women Downs Akron, 72-52
3/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Marshall Women Downs Akron, 72-52
3/1/2003
Ida Dotson Plays In Her Last Regular Season Game At The Henderson Center (Photo by Jeff Gentner) |
Huntington, W.Va.--The Marshall women?s basketball team got their seventh Mid-American Conference win Saturday afternoon over the Akron Zips, 72-52. The Herd goes to 11-15 overall, 7-8 in the MAC, while the Zips fall to 2-2, 1-14 in the conference.
The Thundering Herd led the Zips from the opening tip and never looked back. Marshall started the game on a 7-0 run, had their lead grow to 14 in the first half, and took a 37-26 advantage into the halftime break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Akron took control of the boards over the Herd, who came into the game with a MAC-best +7.6 rebounding margin. The Zips cut Marshall?s lead to eight at 56-48 with 5:40 to go, but never got any closer. The Herd?s defense held Akron to only two points in the final 3:54 of the game, and Marshall?s offense took advantage of the Zips? lapse, closing out the game on a 12-2 run.
?The difference in the game today was our team defense,? said Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick. ?We were right there on top of them for most of the game.
?You hold someone in the fifties and you have a good chance to win, and that?s what we did.?
MU shot 45.3% (24-53) from the floor, compared to 33.3% (18-54) for the Zips. The Herd also committed only 15 turnovers, six below their season average.
Marshall was led by Sikeetha Shepard-Hall (Houston, Tex.), who scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Christina Harbin (Miami, Fla.) and senior Ida Dotson (Tombstone, Ariz.) each added 13 points in MU?s winning effort.
Raegan Johnson had 16 points and ten rebounds to lead Akron.
The Herd travel to Miami to take on the RedHawks in their last regular season contest of the season. Tip-time is set for 7 p.m.
