Marshall University Athletics
Hamilton Named Conference USA Player of the Week
12/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
IRVING, Texas - Marshall women's basketball redshirt senior forward Talequia Hamilton was named Conference USA Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Hamilton averaged 20 points and eight rebounds for her first weekly award.
The Huntington, W.Va., native was a dominant force for Marshall in a 73-68 win over Morgan State (Dec. 6) and a close 74-69 loss at Florida that included a furious comeback late in the game.
Against the Morgan State Bears, Hamilton recorded her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Her 13-game shot-blocking streak came to an end but Hamilton recorded two steals while shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from the floor. With just 14 seconds remaining, and leading by three, Hamilton grabbed a defensive rebound off a miss by Morgan State to help close out the win. She got off a quick pass to teammate Shayna Gore who was immediately fouled and then converted both free throws to give Marshall the five-point advantage.
Down at Florida, after an exhausting day of travel on Saturday - her birthday, Hamilton scored a season and team-high 21 points and recorded five rebounds and one block against the Gators. The senior forward shot 45 percent (9-of-20) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from three. Hamilton started her day with a three that gave Marshall an early four-point lead in the first quarter. In the second half, Marshall trailed by as many as 20 with 4:48 left in the third and by 16 at the end of the third.
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton scored seven of Marshall's 25 points in a tremendous effort to battle back into the game. Hamilton's play helped to lead the Herd to cutting the deficit down to one with 1:06 left in the game. Her defensive pressure was key in disrupting one of the hottest shooting teams in the country as Florida hit just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from the floor and 11.1 percent (1-of-9) from three.
Marshall returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m., against Appalachian State in the Cam Henderson Center.
