Marshall University Athletics
Herd Caravan Stops in Beckley
7/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Herd Caravan Stops in Beckley
7/20/2005
Story courtesy of the Beckley Register-Herald
By Randall Jett, Register-Herald Sports Writer
The Thundering Herd's women's basketball caravan made a stop at Tamarack in Beckley Tuesday to promote this season's squad, which will feature former Greenbrier East star Jill Justice.
"I feel like Jill is the difference maker for our team, simply because she brings a dimension that we did not have," Marshall women's coach Royce Chadwick said. "That's what it's all about. It's about bringing what you bring to the table and fitting it together chemistry-wise."
Justice, along with post player Modupe Ishola of Washington, D.C., and Sikeetha Shepard-Hall of Houston, Texas, were on hand to meet with local fans and solicit donations for the women's basketball program.
"Today, we're just trying to mingle and raise some money for our scholarship fund for the summer," Ishola said. "That's what we're raising money for. We need money to help girls get into summer school and stuff like that for next summer."
In addition, the players were hoping to recruit some new fans for their team.
"It's been great to go out in different communities and try to convince different people to view our games," Shepard-Hall said. "That's the thing about it, you go out and try to get as many people as you can to come in and just watch one game. If they would just watch one, maybe they'd come back and watch another one."
Justice, who transferred to Marshall last year from Clemson, feels honored to receive all the attention that she has since returning to West Virginia.
"It's really unbelievable for me - to come back to your home state and represent your home state and your hometown like this," Justice said. "It's just great to see all the fans and people you've grown up with all your life come and support you. It's just a great feeling."
She is also ready to suit up and hit the court for the Herd.
"I've been at Marshall all summer working out with the team," Justice said. "Our whole team's back right now in July and we're working hard. It looks good for next year."
Chadwick is ready to plug Justice into the lineup and turn her loose on the opposition.
"Jill Justice is the best shooter that I have ever seen play," Chadwick said. "She can fill it up. She's going to make a huge difference in our program and she's from right here in our backyard."
The Herd returns four out of five starters from last season's team and has added some quality incoming freshmen to the mix. Chadwick believes Justice will fill an immediate need for a perimeter shooter.
"She's a shooter," Chadwick said. "If you want to look at the reason why we were at home (during the tournament), we couldn't shoot the perimeter. We can slash and we can power it up but we did not have a pure shooter. We knew we had to address that. Jill is that girl. She can really, really shoot the ball and she can shoot it from deep."
Justice and her teammates believe they are helping to raise awareness of their sport, not just in-state but around the country.
"I think we're making a good name for women's basketball in West Virginia," Justice said. "We had a good season last year and I think there will be more fans around to see how exciting our games are. I think we're making a good name for all women's basketball across the country."
"Everywhere we go, we're looking for a little bit more spotlight," Ishola said. "It's not just about the spotlight but we would like to have it. We try to make Marshall a big name everywhere we go."
The move to Conference USA from the Mid-American Conference has everyone, including the coaching staff, excited about the possibilities.
"Conference USA is aptly named," Chadwick said. "We are going on the national scene now. The Mid-American Conference in women's basketball was the 19th ranked conference in the nation. Going into Conference USA, it is the No. 8 ranked conference in the nation. We're not just stepping up a notch, we're going up huge notches."
"This is a big challenge," Ishola added. "It's much different. Everybody in the MAC was a good challenge but I think it's going to be more of a challenge going into this big conference. It's going to be more athletic, more talent and you know, everything is just going to be more."
"Conference USA is a big jump for us," Shepard-Hall said. "I know that we're ready. It's going to be good for the school because there is a lot of exposure. Conference USA has had a good number of teams get into the (NCAA) tournament and we won 18 games last year. That puts us in the top four, I think, for the postseason."
