Marshall University Athletics

BOGACZYK: Herd Reaches 11 Wins, Outlasting Owls
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Final Book | Postgame Press Conference
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Five years.
That's how long it's been since Marshall women's basketball accomplished what it did Saturday afternoon at the Henderson Center.
The most significant calendar reference point for Coach Matt Daniel's third Herd team, however, dates back only to last season.
Marshall showed a resiliency it didn't have in 2013-14, rallying for a 66-59 Conference USA victory over Florida Atlantic after the Owls had erased what was a 13-point Herd lead with 15:41 left.
"Last year, we'd have totally went downhill there," MU junior point guard Norrisha Victrum said of the juncture when FAU (8-8, 2-3) took a 46-45 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. "Then, if we had looked up at the scoreboard, saw that score, them up, we'd never have come back.
"But now we know, hey, there's still more time left, so let's go. We've matured a lot. We've got the same people, but it's a totally different team ââ'¬Â¦ focus, maturity, and our communication with one another is totally different from last year."
And so are the results for the Herd (11-5, 3-2), which reached its victory total for the entire 2013-14 season as Victrum scored a season-high 21 points and post player Chukwuka Ezeigbo and forward Leah Scott provided double-doubles.
As for the aforementioned five years ââ'¬Â¦ That's the last time Marshall took a pair of C-USA victories at home on the same basketball weekend. On Jan. 8 and 10, 2010, the Herd downed UCF and Southern Miss, respectively. The current team followed up its win over FIU on Thursday night with Saturday's triumph.
Daniel's first two Herd teams won nine and 11 games (9-21, 11-20). But now the coach is starting four seniors and third-year point guard starter Victrum, and the composure on the offensive end of the floor is matched by the commitment to defense at the other end of the hardwood.
An example of the newfound attitude came a few minutes after the victory, when Scott walked out of the locker room and asked to see a box score. The Herd's season scoring leader wanted to check ââ'¬Â¦ "my rebounds," she said.
Scott had 10 boards, to go with 17 points. Ezeigbo was limited to 27 minutes because of foul issues, but the nation's top field-goal percentage player (.683) managed 10 points on 5-of-7, to go with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Ezeigbo had her eighth double-double of the season and 14th in her Herd career. Scott's double-double was her fifth in two MU seasons.
"In order for our offense to get going, we've got to play good defense and get stops so we can push the ball," Scott said. "When you can run good offense, that gives you good energy at the other end of the floor. It all goes together.
"When we're not shooting well, you can still defend. We didn't shoot it well in the first half, but we got four good stops late in the first half and then got open looks."
The Herd led 29-17 at halftime - the fifth time this season Daniel's club has had a foe to less than 20 first-half points. FAU shot only .207 in the first half (6-of-29) and made only three of 20 shots in the final 13 minutes.
"We were just trying to switch it up on defense, but that means we have to focus," Victrum said. "Coach knows he can switch in the game plan in the huddle, switching it up, not stick to one thing. We played five defenses (man, 1-2-2, 2-3, 1-3-1 and full-court press) and tried to keep them off balance.
"We knew this team was very athletic and they did what they came to do. We kept our heads in the game and went with the game plan and it worked out."
It's that kind of defense that has buoyed the Herd - which leads C-USA in field-goal percentage defense -- all season. In its 11 wins, Marshall is holding opponents to .321 shooting. In five losses, Herd foes are shooting .426.
The 6-foot-3 Ezeigbo sat with her third foul with the Herd up 31-21 with 17:56 left in the game. When she returned, the Owls were in the midst of nine straight points that took them to that 46-45 lead.
The Owls got a double-double from junior Ali Gorrell (19 points, 10 rebounds) and 16 points from season scoring leader Shaneese Bailey. The Herd needed everything it got from Victrum, Scott and Ezeigbo, and Daniel's bench played only 29 minutes. Marshall also had to overcome a perimeter struggle by guard AJ Johnson, who was 1-of-11.
"I'm trying to get everybody else involved and trying to attack," Victrum said when asked of her floor-leader responsibility when the Herd's inside game is limited with Ezeigbo sitting. "I'm not trying to force anything, because I'm a point guard, so my job is to look for others first.
"When they make a run, I just try to stay composed and try to help my team stay composed. It's OK, we've been here before. We were here plenty of times last year. Even this year, we've been there, on the upper end. If they make a run, it's OK. We'll be fine."
And the Herd righted itself down the stretch, building a 10-point lead (59-49) again with 2:36 left.
"We were trying to win the game," Daniel said. "Everybody on that roster wants to win that game and they were trying to do it -- by themselves. Then, when we weren't hitting shots, we were a little bit out of our game plan.
"That is when (FAU) took the lead, so I called a timeout and said 'Whoa, let's settle into play a little bit. Let's do what we are supposed to do and the game will take care of itself.' So we settled in with the game plan that we wanted and I thought we were really good in the last six minutes."
That kind of new-found maturity and focus had Daniel in tears in his postgame press conference. It didn't seem so much a joy that his team is at its previous season's win total with at least 14 games to play.
It's that the same players have taken to coaching and understanding a college basketball of 40 minutes has its ups and downs and sometimes you have to enjoy the roller coaster ride.
Daniel's team is 11-0 when it scores 61 or more points this season. And of its 31 wins in three seasons to date, 21 have come in the Henderson Center.
"We take home games very seriously," said Victrum, whose team is 6-1 this season at "The Cam," with the only loss to league-leading Western Kentucky (16-2). "We want to protect home."
The Herd now goes on the road, visiting UTSA on Thursday night and then going to UTEP next Saturday.