Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Western Kentucky University
MCGILL: Whether Herd or her own, Mayo is all about family
1/11/2019 10:42:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Thundering Herd point guard profiled
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Kristen Mayo calls herself a "homebody," and everything she's loved has never been far away.
The 5-foot-5 sophomore women's basketball player at Marshall grew up in Grayson, Kentucky, and her next door neighbors were an aunt and uncle. There, in a shared driveway, was a place to practice.
"I've never not had a hoop," Mayo said.
She's also never strayed far from home. Mayo has a little sister, and when it came time to choose a college destination she wanted to be near the family she held dear.
"Family is the most important thing to me," she said. "I didn't want to leave my little sister and for her to grow up on her own. Marshall is, by the mile, the closest Division I school I could come to."
Marshall (8-7, 2-0 Conference USA) faces Western Kentucky (8-8, 2-0) this Saturday at 3 p.m. Thundering Herd has won three consecutive games overall and is off to a 2-0 start in Conference USA play. In the latter of the two league wins, Mayo scored the go-ahead layup with 3.1 seconds left to give the Herd a 63-62 win against Charlotte last Saturday.
"We were going to set up a play, but I knew there was not very much time left," Mayo said. "When I turned around I saw a lane and the girl guarding me wasn't a lot taller than me. I figured they weren't going to foul."
Marshall is going for its first 3-0 start in C-USA play since 2011-12 when it opened with wins against Houston, Tulsa and Southern Mississippi. WKU, which was picked to finish fourth in the C-USA preseason poll, has won four consecutive games in the series.
"We have a tough game coming up on Saturday," Mayo said. "Western is really hard to play on the road. We're trying to focus. The two wins are great, but that's already happened. We have to keep moving forward. Western will be a big test for us."
That's how Mayo likes it, though.
When she was in sixth grade, she set a personal goal to become her high school's all-time scoring leader. Mayo exited East Carter High School as the record-holder in points, assists, 3-pointers and steals.
"I don't like things that come easy," Mayo said. "I've grown up in a household where you work for everything you get. You're not going to reach anything if you don't set goals, and you've got to set them high."
She started 25 of 29 games as a freshman at Marshall in 2017-18, finishing fourth on the team in scoring at 7.1 points per game. She led the team in assists with 85, and hit 36.2 percent of 3-pointers. This season, Mayo's scoring is up – 8.9 points per game, third on the team – but the guard sees a lot of room for improvement in her game.
"When I was younger, I couldn't shoot a lick," she said. "In high school people stayed in the paint on me because they were begging me to shoot."
Marshall coach Tony Kemper told Mayo years ago to continue to work on her shot. Earlier this season, Mayo connected on all six of her 3-point attempts in a single game, although she said this week she is now "going through a little bit of a dry spell."
"I need to get in the gym more," she added. "There's always something you can improve on."
Mayo is only 15 games through her second collegiate season. Most of her playing career is still ahead of her. After that, she hopes to return as close to home as possible and begin a career as an educator. She majors in elementary education, and wants to make a different in the lives of young people.
"Family has been such a huge part of my life, and I wanted little kids to know that I'll be their family no matter what," Mayo said. "That's what makes our team special at Marshall. We all have each other's backs like a family does. That's what you have to have."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
