Marshall University Athletics

Saturday, November 15
Kingston, R.I.
12:30 PM

Marshall University

68
vs
55

Fairfield

Aja Sorrells grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.

@HerdWBB Tops Fairfield at URI Tip-Off, 68-55

11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Nov. 15, 2014

Final Stats

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KINGSTON, R.I. - For the first time since 2008-09, Marshall women's basketball began its campaign at 2-0 by defeating Fairfield 68-55 to complete a perfect weekend at the URI Tip-Off at Ryan Center on Saturday afternoon.



Despite trailing for the first four minutes, Marshall battled through nine lead changes and six ties in the first half. After leading by as many as eight at 10:26, the Herd went into the break knotted with Fairfield at 35 after the Stags' Samantha Cooper sunk a last-second jumper from the right elbow.



To start the second half, Fairfield kept a small lead with three ties until the 11:47 mark when McKenzie Akers (Princeton, W.Va.) drained a 3 to make it 47-44 in the Herd's favor. From 9:14 to 3:44, Marshall went on a 13-to-4 run, including six points by Leah Scott (Detroit) and two 3-pointers by AJ Johnson (Silver Spring, Md.) that pushed the Herd nine points in front of the Stags, 62-53, its largest margin of the game thus far. During the final three minutes, the Herd went 6-of-8 from the free throw line to complete the 68-55 victory.



Scott finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Norrisha Victrum (Columbia, S.C) and Johnson followed with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Aja Sorrells (Athens, Ga.) pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds while contributing three points, one assist and one steal. As a team, the Herd out-scored Fairfield in the paint (20-16), and topped the Stags in rebounds (43-42), steals (4-1), points off turnovers (11-10) and fast break points (4-0).



DANIEL DIALOGUE
Quotes by coach Matt Daniel:



On winning back-to-back games to begin the season:
"I feel like our team is continuing to mature. I wanted to prove to ourselves that we could win on the road, and win back-to-back games, like in the conference tournament. Now, we've done that so early in the season. What lies ahead, I don't know. I'm taking it one possession at a time and focusing on Maryland Eastern Shore."



On how the team has changed:
"The way our kids are handling themselves on and off the floor is more of the maturity level that I'm used to and want to be around. I'm really happy with the people that they are trying to become."



On looking forward to next week's home opener:
"I'd like to have a good crowd on Saturday [Nov. 22] for our home opener, to welcome the first 2-0 women's college basketball team home in the right way."



THE LAST TIME...

  • The Herd started the season at 2-0: Nov. 14 & 17, 2008 - at Appalachian State (W, 67-65), vs. North Texas (W, 78-69)
  • The Herd won two or more consecutive games: March 5 & 11, 2014 - vs. UTSA (W, 81-76), vs. Florida Atlantic (W, 80-73)
  • The Herd won two or more consecutive road games: December 28 & 31, 2011 & Jan 5, 2012, at Tennessee Tech (W, 73-68), Ball State (W, 60-58) & Houston (W, 65-41)
  • The Herd won a neutral-site game: Dec. 1, 2012 - vs. Presbyterian at EKU Comfort Suites Tournament, Richmond, Ky. (W, 59-51)
  • The Herd had 10 or fewer turnovers: March 12, 2014 - 9 vs. UAB (L, 79-63)


MILESTONES

  • Aja Sorrells: career-high 10 rebounds (previous: nine at Old Dominion, Feb. 1, 2014)
  • Leah Scott: matched career-high eight field goals (third time)


THE SERIES
Marshall remains unbeaten against Fairfield at 2-0, all-time.



TOURNEY TIDBITS
An All-Tournament team - consisting of one player from each team as well as an overall tournament MVP - will be announced at the end of the tournament. East Carolina, formerly of Conference USA and current American Athletic Conference member, completes the four-team field. The Pirates defeated Fairfield on Friday, 83-68, and will face host Rhode Island on Saturday at 3 p.m.



LET'S GET SOCIAL
Keep up with the latest news about Herd basketball by liking the team's official Facebook page: Marshall University Basketball. For live in-game updates and news, follow @HerdWBB on Twitter. Want to see photos and behind-the-scenes action? Give @HerdWBB a follow on Instagram.



UP NEXT
Marshall will host Maryland Eastern Shore in its home opener at Cam Henderson Center on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m. For all the latest information about Marshall women's basketball, follow @HerdWBB on Twitter.



---HerdZone.com---



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