Marshall University Athletics
Herd Women Win Fourth Straight
1/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Herd Women Win Fourth Straight
1/22/2005
- Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. ? The Marshall women?s basketball team won a school-record three straight Mid-American Conference games with its dominating 72-51 win over Buffalo at Alumni Arena on Saturday.
The Thundering Herd (9-7, 3-2 MAC) earned its fourth consecutive win by playing suffocating team defense and controlling the tempo on both ends of the court. MU allowed a MAC opponent low in points on the day and held the Bulls (3-13, 1-4 MAC) to a 37.3 percent shooting mark.
The freezing weather conditions in western New York could not keep Marshall guard Sikeetha Shepard-Hall's (Houston, Texas) game from heating up, as the junior scored a game-high 23 points by going 7-of-12 from the floor, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. She tied her career-high with five steals and added a pair of assists in 24 minutes of play.
The Herd?s win was its second straight over Buffalo and avenged a demoralizing 19-point loss at Alumni Arena last season.
MU's 3-2 record in MAC play is its best five-game start in its eight years of membership in the conference.
"We're very happy to go on the road and get the win," Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick said. "Buffalo is a young team that will be very formidable come March."
The final score was not indicative of the Herd?s control of the game. MU led by as many as 33 points at the 5:43 mark, which allowed several reserve players to gain minutes. The Herd did not score another point after its sizeable lead as UB scored the game?s final 12 points. Only two Herd players on the roster did not record double-digits in minutes.
Crystal Champion (Washington, D.C.) continued her stellar play on the year, as the sophomore recorded her second straight and fifth overall double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. KaShawna Curry (Huntington, W.Va.) had a productive afternoon with nine points and eight rebounds. Reshundra Smiley (Modesto, Calif.) registered a career-high four assists to go along with eight points.
UB freshman Heather Turner led the Bulls with 16 points while senior Allison Bennett scored 10. Bennett?s younger sister Stephanie hit UB?s lone 3-pointer on the day as the Bulls went 1-for-12 from beyond the arc.
The Herd opened play with two straight 3-point shots from Shepard-Hall and Smiley on the way to an early 8-2 lead. Shepard-Hall scored 14 first-half points (4-of-7 from the floor) with two 3-pointers, two assists and three steals. Smiley added seven points in the first frame while Champion posted eight points and four rebounds.
Buffalo went 0-for-4 from downtown in the first half while the Herd hit 3-of-5 of its long-range attempts.
For the game, MU out-rebounded Buffalo, 45-37.
Marshall will return to the Mountain State for a three-game homestand, beginning with Wednesday?s game with Central Michigan. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
