Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
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UNC Asheville
Marshall Powers Past UNC Asheville, 89-68
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Four players finished in double figures as the Thundering Herd women's basketball team powered its way to an 89-68 win over UNC Asheville in the consolation game of the Terrapin Classic.
Marshall (7-5) opened up a 10-0 lead to open the game and never looked back, shooting .600 from the field en reoute to the 21-point win.
As was the case in the first game of the tournament against Mississippi State, the Thundering Herd played a dominant first half, scoring the first ten points of the game before going to the locker room with a 36-30 lead at the half.
Four points from Andrea Ibezim paced the Herd early on as it went up 10-0 just over three minutes in. Five straight points by Ana Baker of UNC Asheville (3-9) cut the lead in half an Angelica Harris three-pointer put the Herd back up by eight.
The Bulldogs came right back, cutting the lead to a point, 15-14, at the 7:26 mark before Marshall went on a 15-2 stretch to open up its largest lead of the game at 30-16. Keona Brooks led the way at that point, recording six of eight Marshall points over a three-minute stretch.
UNC Asheville turned the tables once again, finishing the half with a 14-6 run to close within six points, 36-30, at halftime. Baker was pivotal in the run, scoring seven of the final ten points of the half for UNCA, eventually finishing the opening half with 14 points.
In Monday's game against Mississippi State, Marshall let the Bulldogs back in the game with an early second half run, but refused to let the same thing happen against UNCA. An 11-0 march to begin the half gave Marshall its largest margin of the contest at 17 points,
Kendall Shepard, who scored three points for UNCA in the first half, tallied six straight to close the gap to 11 points, but in a game that provided several runs by both teams, the Herd made its mark, quickly responding to open up a 20-point advantage at 60-40.
Chantelle Handy, who recorded two points in the first stanza, notched ten in the first eight minutes of the closing half. Alix Barnette also made her presence known. With Marshall holding a 64-44 advantage, Barnette scored eight of MU's next ten points as it opened up a 74-52 lead.
The lead reached as many as 29 points with 4:37 remaining before UNC Asheville closed the lead under 20 points in the closing minutes.
Handy paced the Herd with 14 points while Keona Brooks chipped in a career high 13 points along with grabbing a career high four rebounds. Barnette and Harris each finished with 11.
Marshall not only scorched the nets on the offensive end, it also played strong defensively, holding the Bulldogs to .348 shooting and just 23 field goals.
Ana Baker led UNCA with 14 points while Shepard recorded 13.
On Saturday, the Herd will open up conference play on the road at East Carolina. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Minges Coliseum.
