Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Women To Face WVU In Capital Classic
1/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Thundering Herd women's basketball team will take a break from Conference USA play to face West Virginia in Wednesday's annual Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic in Charleston, W.Va.
Marshall will be looking to put a halt to West Virginia's recent success in the series. The Mountaineers have come out victorious in the last three meetings and six of the last seven overall. The last win for Marshall came in 2005 in the form of an 82-76 decision.
Last years meeting saw the Herd put a scare in WVU, who was ranked No. 12 in the country at the time. The Mountaineers used a 17-point performance from game MVP Olayinka Sanni to edge Marshall, 58-51. Kizzy Hart paced the Herd with a game-high 18 points.
This year's meeting will feature a 9-6 Herd squad, coming off of a road sweep against SMU and Tulsa and a 10-5 Mountaineer team, which fell in its first three Big East contests.
Defense and rebounding were the strengths for MU in its recent road trip to the Midwest. Despite facing two bigger lineups in the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane, the Herd was able to outrebound the larger squads by an average of 17.5 rebounds per game. Against Tulsa, the second best offensive rebounding team in C-USA, the Herd had a decided advantage on the offensive glass, grabbing 24 while limiting Tulsa to 15.
The win over SMU marked the first for Marshall in five tries. The Mustangs took a 29-26 lead to the locker room, but a hot shooting Herd team, which hit 55.2% of its second half shots, provided the spark it needed for the win. Marshall scored on seven straight possessions at one point in the second half.
Freshman Tania Walters was pivotal down the stretch, hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the last 40 seconds to seal the deal for the Herd.
In Saturday's win over Tulsa, it was the defense that provided the spark, limited Tulsa to just 37 points, the lowest total allowed for MU since giving up 34 points in a 2003 win over Morgan State. By sweeping SMU and Tulsa, the Herd clinched its first C-USA road sweep since topping Memphis and UAB in January of 2007.
Alyssa Hammond led the Herd with 18 points in both games of the trip while notching her 700th career point against Tulsa. She led the team, shooting .565 from the floor while going 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
West Virginia enters the Capital Classic with a 10-5 record, but has struggled as of late. The Mountaineers have started their Big East schedule 0-3 thus far against tough competition, which combined to go 38-5 at the time they faced WVU.
Sophomore Liz Repella leads the Mountaineers, averaging 16.5 PPG. That total puts her 11th in the conference. Just behind Repella is Takisha Granberry, who averages 16.2 PPG, second on the team and 13th in the Big East.
The success of Repella and Granberry can be attributed to the play of senior Ashley Powell, who is averaging 5.7 assists per game, the conference leader and the 16th best average in the NCAA.
Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and will be televised on the Capital Classic Network available state-wide on WVPBS.
HerdZone.com All Access will carry a live stream of the event while 88.1 FM WMUL will also carry the game and will have a live stream available at http://www.marshall.edu/wmul.
