Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Illinois
@HerdWBB Shows Fight in Comeback Win
12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score (PDF)
CARBONDALE, Ill. - After trailing for most of the contest the Marshall women's basketball team fought back to record its 10th win of the season, 61-55 over the Southern Illinois Salukis.
"It was a great win," Herd coach Matt Daniel said. "We had a lot of people step up. It was a tale of two halves. We were a different team the second half than the first. We were a lot more resilient in the second half and found a way to win a tough game against a good team. They (SIU) lead the Missouri Valley and they are going to be good. She (Cindy Stein) is doing a great job here."
The first quarter started off well for the Herd. Redshirt senior Leah Scott (Detroit, Mich.) started off the scoring for Marshall with a layup. It was the 53rd straight game that Scott has scored. Freshman Shayna Gore (Logan, W.Va.) scored seven quick points as Marshall built out a six-point lead (12-6) with 6:32 remaining in the period. SIU put together a 9-0 run over the final 2:43 of the first to take the lead, 21-17.
The interior game of the Salukis started to take over in the second quarter. SIU got to a double digit lead by scoring 14 of 17 second quarter points in the paint.
The Herd came out firing to start the third period. SIU scored first on the very first possession and then Marshall went on an 8-0 run with all points coming in the paint. Scott scored four straight points to bring the SIU lead down to five (40-35) at the 7:20 mark. With the second layup, Scott moved passed Tamira Higgins (1991-95) for 18th all-time in scoring as well as reaching double digits for the 21st straight game.
Marshall's defensive intensity caught fire as it outscored SIU 16-9 in the third to bring the deficit down to four. "These kids want to perform well and we have good players and if we are competitive and we going to compete then we will have a shot to win games," Coach Daniel said.
The fourth quarter started with Marshall taking advantage of free throw opportunities. The Herd scored its first four points of the period from the line with Juniors Chelsey Romero (Hampton, Va.) and Kiana Evans (Huntington, W.Va.) converting each try.
The Herd re-gained the lead with 3:39 remaining off of a Romero layup. SIU had held the lead for the previous 27:48. SIU tied the game at 55 with 1:46 remaining. Senior Norrisha Victrum (Columbia, S.C.) took control and scored four straight points to give the Herd a 4-point lead with 14.3 seconds remaining. The second bucket came on an off-balance floater with three seconds left on the shot clock.
The defense held tight and with two more free throws from freshman Logan Fraley (Ashland, Ky.) helped get the Herd to the 61-55 win. Marshall shut down post-player Dyana Pierre in the second half. Pierre scored 10 points in the first half and was kept to only one point in each the third and fourth quarters.
"We changed up our defense to keep them guessing a little bit," Coach Daniel said. "Keep them out of rhythm and out of groove and our kids just played better. They were a little tougher and little more focused and we benefitted from that."
The win over the Salukis was the final non-conference game of the 2015-16 season for the Herd. Next up for Marshall will be its first Conference USA game of the year at Western Kentucky, Saturday Jan. 2. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. eastern time.
"Now we shift to conference play," said Coach Daniel. "Non-conference was 10-1 and now we have to try and beat out a Western Kentucky team on the road, a team that Louisville couldn't beat. It's going to be a great environment, they are going to be hungry they are the defending conference champs. It's a tall order."
---HerdZone.com---
