Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Tulsa
Women's Hoops Rolls Past Tulsa, 51-37
1/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2009
TULSA, Okla. - The Marshall University women's basketball team put forth its best defensive effort in over five years, topping Tulsa, 51-37 Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center.
Marshall (9-6, 2-1 C-USA) held Tulsa (5-10, 1-2 C-USA) to 37 points for the game, the lowest total allowed by the Herd since topping Morgan State by an 88-34 margin in November of 2003.
Alyssa Hammond was once again the star for the Thundering Herd, finishing with 18 points for the second consecutive game. Hammond scored six of MU's first nine points of the game.
The Herd played a strong first half, taking a 25-16 lead into halftime. Marshall opened up the game on a 7-4 stretch over the first six minutes before Tulsa reeled off six straight points to take a 10-7 lead, forcing head coach Royce Chadwick to use his first timeout of the game.
The stoppage turned out to be an advantage for the Herd, who scored the next 11 points to go up 18-10. MU's defense did its job, holding the Golden Hurricane scoreless over a seven-minute stretch before a Kara Vaughan scored with 5:21 left in the half.
Consecutive field goals from Alyssa Hammond put the Herd up 22-12, its first double-digit lead of the contest. A three-pointer from Casey Baker put MU up by 12 before late scores by Tulsa cut halftime lead to nine, 25-16.
Larrissa Williams led Tulsa on a 6-2 run to open the second half, cutting the Marshall lead to just five points, 27-22. With Marshall up five, 29-24, Baker took over, powering Marshall on an 11-2 jolt. Baker scored nine consecutive Herd points, all coming via the three ball. A bucket by Keona Brooks finished off the run as MU opened up a 40-26 lead with 12:37 remaining, its largest of the contest.
Tulsa quickly closed within ten while holding Marshall without a point over a five-minute stretch. Chantelle Handy's second bucket of the game ended the drought with eight minutes left, putting MU up 42-30.
It was a defensive struggle from that point on as the teams combined for just three field goals the rest of the way. Seven of Marshall's remaining nine points came from the charity stripe. Marshall opened up a lead of as many as 17 points, 50-33, before Tulsa closed the gap to 14 in the final seconds.
Rebounding was once again the story for the Herd, finishing with a 49-32 advantage in that department against one of the top rebounding squads in the country.
Hammond led all scorers with 18 points while Baker put up 14. She was 4-of-5 from three-point range, a career best. Tynikki Crook also had a solid day, scoring six points while grabbing a eight rebounds. Freshman Tania Walters led all players with nine rebounds, a career best.
Larrissa Williams was the lone double digit scorer for the Golden Hurricane, scoring 13 points along with tallying a team high seven boards.
Saturday's win marked the first sweep of a conference road trip since topping Memphis and UAB in January of 2007.
Marshall will face West Virginia in Wednesday's Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center before returning home next Sunday to face East Carolina in the C-USA home opener at the Cam Henderson Center.
