Marshall University Athletics
Herd Women Grab Physical Win Over Kent State
1/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Herd Women Grab Physical Win Over Kent State
1/7/2004
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? The combination of Modupe Ishola (Washington, D.C.) and Catie Knable (Floyd Knobs, Ind.) held the Mid-American Conference?s sixth leading scorer to a 1-for-8 shooting performance to guide the Marshall women?s basketball team to a 56-51 win over Kent State on Wednesday at the Cam Henderson Center.
Andrea Csaszar, the Golden Flashes? 6-foot-6 junior center, was held to only five points and four rebounds in 39 minutes of play as Marshall (9-3, 1-1 MAC) defeated Kent State (7-5, 0-1 MAC) for the second time in as many games after snapping an 11-game losing streak to its East Division rival last season.
Knable, the MAC?s leading rebounder, pulled down nine boards with four points and three steals. Ishola, a freshman, scored seven points to go along with six rebounds and a team-high two blocks. Sophomore Sikeetha Shepard-Hall (Houston, Texas) dropped in 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Marshall trailed 31-27 at halftime and never led in the game until freshman Jameka White (Washington, D.C.) scored her only field goal of the game at the 14:27 mark of the second half while drawing a foul on Csaszar. White promptly drilled her free throw to give the Herd a 36-33 advantage.
Marshall's bench outscored the Flashes, 21-5. Mary Pat Statler (New Cumberland, W.Va.) was 3-of-3 (2-of-2 from downtown) to pace the Herd reserves with eight points.
Kent State clawed back to tie the game at 47-47 with three minutes remaining in regulation before the Herd youngsters left their final mark on the game. Freshman Teyonka Hodge (Washington, D.C.) drilled a runner off the glass, followed quickly by a put-back bucket from Ishola and a crowd-rocking three-pointer by Shepard-Hall to build a 54-47 Herd edge. Shepard-Hall was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc while Hodge posted a team season-high eight assists
?This was a team win, and that?s the best kind you can get,? Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick said. ?Our low post presence was the key. It was as physical a game as we?ve played this year.?
Kent State led by as many as seven points with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. KSU?s Lindsay Shearer tallied game-highs with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Knable, Marshall?s only four-year player, sees a difference in her team each time they hit the floor. ?We?re starting to mature more and more each game,? she said. The senior forward/center scored her 700th career point and jumped into fourth place on Marshall?s all-time rebound list with 754 career boards, third most among active MAC players.
Senior Amy Smith (Ramstein, Germany) recorded nine rebounds for the Herd to give the MAC leaders a 49-35 advantage on the glass.
Herd freshman KaShawna Curry (Huntington, W.Va.) went down early in the second half with an ankle injury that has yet to be fully evaluated. Prior to the injury, the Marshall starting forward scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting.
The Herd will travel to Athens, Ohio, for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday.
