Thundering Herd Begins Florida Swing on Thursday

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall women's basketball team returns to action Thursday evening when it visits Florida Atlantic. Tipoff against the Owls is set for 7 p.m. ET at FAU Arena.

The Thundering Herd enters the game with a record of 8-8 and 2-1 in Conference USA play. The Owls are 3-17 and 0-4 in the league.

The game will be broadcast on CUSA.tv and will also be carried on WMUL's (88.1 FM) Cutting Edge Sports Radio Network where it can be accessed through one of the Listen Live links at www.marshall.edu/wmul.

Last Time Out
Western Kentucky's Sherry Porter and Dee Givens tallied 20 points apiece to lead the Lady Hilltoppers to an 85-55 win over visiting Marshall Saturday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena.

The win improved WKU's record to 9-8 overall and 3-0 in Conference USA action and extended its winning streak to four, while Marshall had its three-game winning streak snapped to drop to 8-8 and 2-1 in league play.

Porter's scoring, which was a career high, came on 7-for-12 shooting and 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Givens made eight of 11 shots (4-for-6 from 3-point range) and had eight steals and six rebounds. Meral Abdelgawad and Alexis Brewer, who returned from a two-game absence due to injury had 14 points apiece.

Marshall was led by Taylor Porter's 16 points (6-for-12 on field goals, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers) and Shayna Gore added 14. Khadaijia Brooks had a game-high seven rebounds, a statistical category that Marshall won 32-31.

Turnovers were a big story in the game as WKU turned over the visitors 20 times and committed just eight, leading to a 30-10 advantage in points off those miscues. The Lady Tops also held a big margin on points in the paint (42-20).

The game turned in both the second and fourth quarters. Marshall led by one (17-16) after one quarter and was just two points behind for the third stanza (21-19), but dropped the second (24-10) and fourth (24-9) periods by the combined tally of 48-19.

"You have to tip your cap to Sherry Porter," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "She showed that she's capable of that type of game, but I'm disappointed in that we didn't play well. We have to learn from this, though, and head to Florida with the right mindset next week."

Gore-Porter Triples
Marshall's duo of Shayna Gore (9-for-17, 52.9 percent) and Taylor Porter (8-for-16, 50.0 percent) have been on fire in conference play this season. In non-conference play, Gore was 39-for-105 (37.1 percent) and Porter checked in at 33.3 percent (22-for-66).

32.4
Shayna Gore is currently averaging a team-high 32.4 minutes per game. The last time a Thundering Herd player averaged more was Norrisha Victrum's 33.0 during the 2015-16 season.

Turning Them Over
The Thundering Herd has turned over its opponents an average 17.5 times per game. The last time a Marshall team averaged more was 2011-12 (19.4).

Herd Rules the Paint (in wins)
Marshall is 6-0 this season when it has more points in the paint and 2-8 when the total is even or the opposition has more.

Five to Play
Marshall is 7-1 this season when it leads (or is tied) with five minutes left on the clock and 1-7 when it does not.

Freebies
The Thundering Herd is 7-1 when it makes more free throws and 1-7 when the opposition has the higher (or tied) total.

Thieves on the Floor...
Marshall has ripped off 150 steals and is second in Conference USA with 9.4 thefts per game (the last time a Marshall team averaged more was 10.5 in 2011-12). 53.6 percent (150-of-280) of the opposition's turnovers have resulted in a Thundering Herd steal. Shayna Gore leads the team with 32 steals and has recorded at least one in 14 of 16 games. Kristen Mayo is next with 26 steals. Taylor Porter (24) and Kia Sivils (18) are right behind and both had a season-high five steals with Porter against Bluefield State and Sivils at Appalachian State. Gore (5th - 2.0) and Mayo (9th - 1.6) both rank in the top 10 in C-USA in steals per game.

The Herd has posted at least seven thefts in seven of the past eight games. Marshall's four steals at WKU snapped a streak of 26 games that saw the Thundering Herd record at least five swipes.

...and Taking Care of it
Marshall is 6-1 when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition and 2-7 when it has more.

500 Field Goals
Senior Shayna Gore finished the 2017-18 season just one bucket short of 500 made for her career. With 2:14 left in the first quarter of the season-opener against Indiana State, Gore hit a three to become the eighth player in program history with 500 made field goals. After hitting two more baskets in the game, Gore moved into seventh all-time passing Sheila Johnson (1987-91). Gore is now third with 592 after the WKU contest. The senior from Logan, W.Va., still has quite a way to go before possibly reaching second all-time as Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Kristina Behnfeldt (1995-99) has 664. Fellow Hall of Famer Karen Pelphrey (1982-86) is the program's all-time leader with 1,175.

Moving on up the Ranks
Shayna Gore put up a career-best performance with 34 points against Bowling Green and moved into fourth place all-time in Marshall scoring history. Gore surpassed former Herd great Tynikki Crook (2007-11) in the third quarter and finished the game at 1,485 career points. Gore buried six 3-pointers, the third time in her career with six or more, in helping to move ahead of Crook.

Gore continued her move up the scoring column with 24 points in the win over Tennessee State (12/15) to move into third place all-time, passing Sikeetha Shepard-Hall (2002-06). She now has 1,724 points for her career. Next up in second place is another Herd Hall of Famer in Kristina Behnfeldt (1995-99) with 2,117, and whose number hangs in the rafters in the Cam Henderson Center.

Herd Shows Defensive Prowess
Marshall's 57-48 win over the Monarchs produced remarkable defensive numbers that the Thundering Herd hadn't accomplished in league play in quite some time. The last time Marshall allowed a lower field goal percentage (.314 on Thursday) was .297 in a December 30, 2016 contest vs. FIU. The last time it forced more turnovers (23 on Thursday) was 28 in a January 14, 2016 game vs. North Texas. The last time it allowed fewer points (48 on Thursday) was 45 to North Texas on February 7, 2015. Finally, you have to go all the way back to Marshall's days in the MAC to find the last time the program allowed fewer points in EITHER half (13 during Thursday's first half). The Akron Zips posted just eight in the first half against Marshall on February 26, 2002.

Conference USA Player of the Week
Taylor Porter was honored with the weekly award for the first time in her career with a couple of great performances. In the loss at Wisconsin, Porter scored a season-high 16 points and tied her career-high with eight boards. Back at home in the win over Cleveland State, the redshirt senior set a new season-high with 22 points, established a career-best with six made three-pointers, contributed five assists and three steals.

Let it Fly from Outside
Marshall's 16 made three-pointers against Coppin State was a program record. The previous high was 15 versus Maine Fort Kent on Dec. 20, 2016. In the win over Coppin State, Kristen Mayo set a career-high going 6-for-6 and establishing a new mark for the highest perfect score from beyond the arc in program history. Tamira Higgins went 5-for-5 against Chattanooga on Jan. 17, 1994. Shayna Gore hit five 3-pointers and six different players hit one from outside. Jovana Vucetic hit the record-breaker, sinking the Herd's final three of the day with 1:23 remaining in the game.

Overtime-less Streak Comes to an End
Marshall's 72-65, overtime victory against Evansville ended a long running streak. It had been 131 games - or 1,730 days - since the Herd played an overtime period, and ended the second longest active streak in Division I women's basketball behind Maryland. The last time Marshall played an overtime game came on March 5, 2014, on Senior Night against the UTSA Roadrunners in the Cam Henderson Center. That year, the Herd's freshmen were in the eighth grade and only Taylor Porter was on a collegiate court during her freshman season at Murray State.

Welcome Back - Khadaijia Brooks & Taylor Porter - Season-Opener
The season-opener against Indiana State saw the return of two players for Marshall who missed the 2017-18 season with medical redshirts. Taylor Porter and Khadaijia Brooks both made their comebacks to the floor on Nov. 7, in the Cam Henderson Center. Brooks led Marshall with 16 points, 11 boards and added two blocks while shooting 7-of-13 from the floor. Porter struggled offensively from the field going 2-of-9 and 1-of-5 from three-point range. However, Porter's energy, intensity and toughness on the floor will be a welcomed sight back for Marshall in her senior season.

Up Next
Marshall travels to FIU for a 2 p.m. ET tip on Saturday.

For all of the latest information on the Marshall women's basketball team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdWBB, Facebook at Marshall University Basketball and on www.herdzone.com.

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Marshall University Athletics

Thundering Herd Begins Florida Swing on Thursday

Players Mentioned

Khadaijia Brooks

Shayna Gore

Kristen Mayo

Taylor Porter

Kia Sivils

Jovana Vucetic

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