Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Tulsa
Herd Women Down Tulsa, 57-49
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2010
TULSA, Okla. - Redshirt senior Kendra King tied her career high with 14 points as the Thundering Herd women's basketball team grabbed a 57-49 win over Tulsa on Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center.
King hit 5-of-10 shots with eight of her points coming the second half. Another senior, Chantelle Handy, was the other double-digit scorer for the Herd (12-6, 4-2 C-USA), scoring 11.
Tulsa (6-10, 0-5 C-USA) jumped out on top, 6-4, three minutes into the contest before the Herd defense clamped down, holding the Golden Hurricane without a point for a stretch of eight minutes while opening up a 13-6 advantage.
A trey by Raechele Gray highlighted the run, which was capped off by a jumper in the lane by Adrian Randall. Tulsa missed nine-consecutive shots before a three-pointer by Kara Vaughan cut the MU lead to 13-9.
Over the final minutes, Marshall would add to the lead by three, taking a 24-17 lead to the locker room at the half. After hitting three of its first eight shot attempts, Tulsa hit just five of its next 28 to finish the half shooting 22.2%. Marshall held the seven-point lead despite shooting 32% in the first period.
Larrissa Williiams, the only player in Conference USA to rank in the top five in points, rebounds and blocked shots, kept Tulsa in the game, scoring the final eight points of the half for the Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, scoring the first five points of the period before knotting the game at 26-26. With MU hanging onto a 26-23 lead, Vaughan knocked down her second trey to tie the game.
The game remained close until the Herd sprinted out to a 43-37 edge with 7:45 remaining in the contest. A quick 5-0 spurt by Tulsa got it within one before Marshall scored six-straight to go up 49-42 with 4:33 left in the game.
Marshall controlled the game the rest of the way before taking home the 57-49 win. Larrissa Williams was the leading scorer and rebounder in the contest, scoring 16 points while hauling in 12 boards. Vaughan scored 12 for Tulsa, all coming via the three-point shot.
Marshall's defense stifled the Golden Hurricane, holding them to just 25.7% shooting for the game. Marshall shot 39.2%. For the first time this season, the Herd won a game despite being outrebounded by the opposition as Tulsa finished with a 46-43 advantage on the boards.
Following four games away from home, the Herd women return back to the Cam Henderson Center for a pair of games next weekend. Marshall will play host to Memphis on Thursday evening before facing off against UAB on Saturday. Both games are set to begin at 7 p.m.
