Marshall University Athletics
Thundering Herd Travels to Lady Toppers for Saturday Matchup
1/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes
Live Video
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall women's basketball team (11-6 overall, 3-3 Conference USA) travels to WKU (13-15, 5-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT for a contest in E.A. Diddle Arena.
SCOUTING WKU
The Lady Toppers are coming off a 66-51 drubbing of Middle Tennessee in a game WKU led by as many as 33. Kendall Noble leads Lady Toppers with 14.8 points per game, 84 assists and 47 steals. Ivy Brown is the team's top rebounder at 8.7 per contest and has a team-high 22 blocks. Jaycee Coe leads with the way with 28 3-pointers and Whitney Creech has made 37 of 68 field goal attempts (.544). Also noteworthy is the fact that Micah Jones is the league's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0). WKU is the top scoring team in the league (76.1 points per game) and also leads the conference in scoring margin (+14.7), free throw percentage (.776), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1), offensive rebounds (15.3) and offensive rebounding percentage (.406). However, WKU stands 11th in 3-point percentage (.309).
Marshall pulled out a 66-63 win over the Lady Toppers in last season's C-USA Tournament Quarterfinals, the first victory from the program in seven tries, despite Noble's triple-double effort (17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).
MARSHALL IN CONFERENCE USA
The Thundering Herd leads C-USA (all games) in:
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense: .273
Defensive Rebounds: 28.4
3-Point Field Goals Made: 7.6
The Thundering Herd leads C-USA (league games only) in:
Blocked Shots: 6.0
3-Point Field Goals Made: 7.3
STINGY AGAINST THE BLAZERS
Marshall pulled out a 61-58 win over UAB in its last outing, thanks in large part to limiting the Blazers to a 5-for-24 shooting effort (.208) over the game's final 13 minutes, 24 seconds. The Thundering Herd made life especially difficult for Deanna Kuzmanic, who came into the game leading the league in 3-point percentage (.449). However, she made just one of seven attempts from downtown on Saturday. Marshall also allowed just one steal to UAB, the fewest since yielding that total to Fairfield on Nov. 15, 2014.
IRONWOMAN
Hamilton has been extremely durable and dependable during her season and a half with the program. Not only has she played in all 50 of Marshall's games during that period, but she has started all of them as well. She has been especially effective of late, registering double-figure scoring in four of her last five games and connecting on 17 of her last 24 field goals (.708) in her last three. In league games, she is far and away the conference's top shot blocker at 3.0 per outing, 1.3 ahead of teammate Ashley Saintigene, who sits second (1.7). Hamilton's four rejections against UAB gave her 67 for her career, four shy of Tammy Simms' (1986-87) eighth-place mark of 71 in the school's all-time records.
FRALEY FINDS THE RANGE
Sophomore sharpshooter Logan Fraley is second in C-USA league games with a .545 3-point percentage, making six of 11 attempts. She has made five of her last seven shots from deep over her last three games.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Thundering Herd is 9-1 at home this season, where it averages 77.6 points, .462 shooting from the field (282-for-611) and 79-for-229 (.345) from downtown. It also outrebounds the opposition 44.8 to 35.1 and has a staggering 62-15 edge in blocked shots. In fact, Marshall has won 19 consecutive non-conference games in the Cam Henderson Center. Its last loss was a 72-68 setback against Navy on Dec. 29, 2013.
ON PACE
This year's Thundering Herd is on pace to set its best marks under head coach Matt Daniel. Currently, they are:
73.6 points per game (70.5 in 2015-16)
.430 FG% (.426 in 2015-16)
.368 FG% defense (.380 in 2014-15)
7.6 3-pointers per game (6.6 in 2015-16)
.318 3FG% (.315 in 2014-15)
.273 3FG% defense (.294 in 2014-15)
42.4 rebounds (38.4 in 2013-14)
14.4 offensive rebounds (12.7 in 2013-14)
5.8 blocks (4.4 in 2013-14)
1.9 blocks allowed (2.2 in 2012-13)
12.7 assists allowed (13.2 in 2014-15)
STREAKING
The Thundering Herd has had more (or as many) blocks than the opposition in nine-straight games.
ALL FOUR
Marshall has not been outscored in any quarter this season. The totals are below:
First quarter: 334-247
Second quarter: 280-264
Third quarter: 330-276
Fourth quarter: 307-275
SECOND-CHANCE SUCCESS
Much has been made of Marshall's excellent defensive rebounding numbers, but the program has gotten it done on the offensive end as well, tying for fourth in Conference USA with 14.1 per game. That total has helped the Thundering Herd tally more (or as many) second chance points than the opposition in seven of its last 10 games.
AKERS GOES LONG
Marshall junior McKenzie Akers is tied for sixth in the school's record book with 115 3-pointers and is now hunting down former teammate AJ Johnson (117, 2013-15) for fifth.
STINGY DEFENSE
The Thundering Herd leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.273) and defensive rebounds (28.4). In Marshall's 11 wins, it has yielded just a .322 shooting percentage (215-for-667) and .236 (59-for-250) from 3-point range and hasn't allowed more than 67 points (Florida A&M). In fact, dating back to last season, Marshall has won 18 straight games when allowing 68 points or less (L at Middle Tennessee, 65-54, 1/28/16).
FRESHMAN INSIDE FORCE
Freshman forward Ashley Saintigene has been a force around the paint. Saintigene leads Conference USA with 2.1 blocks per contest, while ranking fourth in offensive rebounds (3.8). She is also second on the team in rebounding at 7.1 per game. All of those stats have been accrued in just 16.4 minutes per game. The Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., native was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week Dec. 12, Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.
KB WORKING THE GLASS
Sophomore forward Khadaijia Brooks has been working the interior for Marshall in 2016-17. Brooks is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 caroms per game (ninth in C-USA). She has recorded at least five boards in all but two contests (Longwood, UAB) and grabbed a career-high 12 against Maine-Fort Kent, when she also posted a career-high 22 points. She recorded back-to-back double-doubles at Charlotte (12 points, 10 rebounds) and versus Middle Tennessee (11 points, 10 rebounds).
BLOCK PARTY
The Herd is second in C-USA with 5.8 blocks per game this season and has more blocks than the opposition in all but one game (at North Carolina). Marshall recorded 10 blocks in the season debut at Illinois and followed that with 11 swats versus FIU on Dec. 30. Against the Fighting Illini, redshirt-senior Talequia Hamilton led Marshall with a career-high five rejections. Freshman Ashley Saintigene had three blocks in her Herd debut (all coming in the second quarter).
