Marshall University Athletics
Herd Welcomes UAB, Middle Tennessee for Final Home Weekend
2/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes
Live Video!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The Marshall women's basketball team (16-9 overall, 6-8 Conference USA) hosts UAB (13-12, 6-8) Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and Middle Tennessee (18-7, 12-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. on the program's final home weekend of league play.
Approximately 1,200 local students are set to attend Thursday's game, billed as Field Trip Day, while Saturday's contest will serve as Senior Day, when Leah Scott and Norrisha Victrum will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
SCOUTING THE BLAZERS
UAB is 13-12 overall and 6-8 in Conference USA. Deanna Kuzmanic leads the team in points per game (13.2) and steals (26) and is also the top 3-point shooter (66 makes, 38.2 percent), while Brittany Winborne averages a double-double (10.5 points and league-high 10.9 rebounds) to go with her 56.5 field goal percentage (also a league-high). Bianca Dufelmeier has a team-high 71 assists and Kayla Anderson has 38 blocks (second in C-USA). Chelsee Black is a solid 83.1 percent (54-for-65) from the free throw line. UAB leads the league in scoring defense (57.4), rebounding defense (32.5), rebounding margin (+7.0) and defensive rebounding percentage (72.6 percent). The Blazers are last in the league in steals (5.5 per game).
HAMILTON SURGING
Talequia Hamilton's production has spiked significantly over the team's last five games. She has been the team's second-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game and has made 64.3 percent (27-for-42) of her field goal attempts. She has also averaged 5.4 rebounds per contest. In the 11 games before that, she was just the team's fifth-leading scorer at 6.8 points per game, shooting 38.6 percent (27-for-70) with 4.0 rebounds per game.
RAMPING UP THE OFFENSE
Coach Matt Daniel's teams have increased their scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, free throws made per game, assists per game and 3-pointers per game over the course of his four seasons as the team's head coach.
Scoring
2015-16: 72.4 points per game
2014-15: 66.1
2013-14: 63.3
2012-13: 55.4
Field Goal Percentage
2015-16: 43.2 percent
2014-15: 42.2
2013-14: 37.6
2012-13: 37.8
Free Throw Percentage
2015-16: 72.7 percent
2014-15: 66.2
2013-14: 64.3
2012-13: 65.9
Free Throws Made Per Game
2015-16: 14.6
2014-15: 11.3
2013-14: 13.4
2012-13: 9.3
Assists Per Game
2015-16: 13.8
2014-15: 11.3
2013-14: 11.4
2012-13: 10.0
3-Pointers Per Game
2015-16: 6.6
2014-15: 6.0
2013-14: 5.9
2012-13: 5.9
REJECTION!
Marshall is second in conference games only at 3.8 blocks per contest.
CONSISTENCY
Marshall point guard Norrisha Victrum has become a more consistent scorer since the calendar turned to 2016. In her first 12 games this season, she notched double figures just five times. In her last 13 contests, she has hit that mark in eight games and has been the team's second-leading scorer at 10.3 per game.
LEADER!
Victrum (2.1) leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
The Herd is outstanding when the following happens:
15-0 leading with five minutes left
8-0 holding opponents to 60 points or less
13-2 leading at half
11-2 when outrebounding opposition
15-3 when making more free throws
RECORD BOOK WATCH
The Herd has a few players who are approaching career milestones and rising up the ranks of the program record book.
Senior Leah Scott has scored 417 points this season for a career total of 1,250. She is the 19th player in team history to score 1,000. Scott currently ranks seventh and needs 77 to pass Sheila Johnson (1987-91) for sixth. She also ranks fifth all-time with 311 free throws made.
Senior Norrisha Victrum can also be found in a few places in the record book. Victrum has 361 assists and has passed Kim Lewis (1984-1988) for fifth place in the school's all-time records. Victrum is currently sixth in 3-point field goals made (109) and needs 59 points to become the 20th player to reach 1,000 for her career.
Junior Chelsey Romero has 28 blocks this season to give her a career total of 112. She is in fifth place all-time and is the fifth player in program history with 100 in a career. She needs four more rejections to pass former teammate Chukwuka Ezeigbo (2011-15) for fourth on the school's all-time list.
