Marshall University Athletics
Saturday, January 1
Huntington, W.Va.
1 PM
Marshall University
vs
Southern Miss
Photo by: Melissa Booton
Women’s Basketball Back in Action Saturday vs. Southern Miss
12/31/2021 2:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tipoff in the Cam Henderson Center scheduled for 1 p.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall women's basketball team gets right back on the Cam Henderson Center floor as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles make the trip to Huntington. Tipoff is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Thundering Herd enters the game with a 6-4 overall record and 1-0 in Conference USA play. The Golden Eagles come in at 8-4 overall and 0-1 in league action.
Game Details
Marshall Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: Herdzone.com
Live Video: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1
Series History: 26 all-time meetings – Southern Miss leads 16-10
Last Meeting: March 11, 2020 in Frisco, Texas – Marshall won 71-65 in overtime in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Marshall is coming off a 62-44 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday. The Herd had a dominating defensive performance and one of its best of the season. The 44 points allowed is the lowest of the year by Marshall, besting the 45 allowed in the season-opener to Bluefield State. It was the third time in 2021-22 that the Herd has allowed 50 or fewer points in a game. Marshall held the Lady Techsters to under 10 points in two quarters, making nine total quarters this season that the Herd has held an opponent to 10 points or less.
Marshall's defense allowed just 20 points in the second half for the second-consecutive game also holding Oakland to just 20 in the second half during the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Herd held Louisiana Tech to just 25 rebounds, including only 11 in the second half, and marked the first time that Marshall has held an opponent to 25 or fewer boards since Dec. 18, 2017 against Kentucky Christian (17 rebounds).
The Herd recorded 12 steals as sophomore Savannah Wheeler tied her season-high with four, sophomore Alexis Johnson tied her career-high with three and senior Aaliyah Dunham nabbed two.
Several individual career milestones were reached in the game. Senior Brianah Ferby scored her 900th career point and now has 903. She has 84 in her Marshall career. Graduate student Kennedi Colclough and Dunham both tallied their 800th career points. Colclough now has 804, with 283 during her time at Marshall, and Dunham has 801 with 65 during her time with the Green & White. Junior Lorelei Roper recorded her 50th career block with two rejections in the win.
Wheeler drained her 100th career three-pointer and is 13th all-time with 101. Kristi Huff (1988-92) is 12th with 106. Wheeler also moved into 14th all-time in career free throws attempted (333) passing Marshall Hall of Famer Lee Ann Parsley (1986-90).
Wheeler continues to lead the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game, which leads the conference and ranks 24th in the NCAA. Colclough is second with 14.4 points per contest. Wheeler and Colclough have both been efficient at the free throw line this season. Wheeler is draining 85.5-percent and Colclough is hitting 82.9-percent as they rank first and second, respectively, in C-USA.
Roper's rebounding average continues to climb as she pulled down nine more rebounds on Thursday, bringing her season average to 7.2. Roper has grabbed at least seven boards in the last five games. She also leads the Herd with 13 blocks and has tallied at least one swat in nine-straight games. Dunham is the leader in assists with 44 helpers this season. Dunham has also been very efficient with the ball as she leads the league, and ranks 32nd in the NCAA, in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.59. The senior guard has committed just 17 turnovers while running the point for the Herd. She has grabbed 26 steals and is 46th in the NCAA in steals per game (2.60).
Following the game against Southern Miss, Marshall travels to Boca Raton, Fla., for a game against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Jan. 8.
The Opponent
Southern Miss comes to Huntington after falling 98-88 at WKU on Thursday.
At WKU, Melyia Grayson tallied 24 points and 10 boards before fouling out. Southern Miss nabbed 13 steals and forced 17 turnovers. However, the Golden Eagles committed 19 turnovers. WKU drilled 11 three-pointers in the win as Meral Abdelgawad drained five from beyond the arc and scored 36 points. Southern Miss scored 56 points in the paint.
The Golden Eagles are on a two-game skid after rolling out a five-game winning streak. The streak was snapped against the Richmond Spiders, 87-75, on Dec. 20 during the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament. The five-game win streak came over Mississippi Valley State, Georgia State, South Alabama, Blue Mountain and Alabama A&M. The Golden Eagles kept all five opponents to scoring under 60 points with Georgia State's 56 being the highest.
Southern Miss has been very effective on the glass, averaging 43.8 boards per game ranking 18th in the NCAA and first in the league. The Golden Eagles rank seventh in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (16.7). It has been a team effort in the rebounding game with Grayson leading the way with 8.7 per game. Six other players are averaging at least three rebounds per game.
Domonique Davis leads the team in scoring with 14.1 per game and 4.5 assists per contest. Grayson is second on the squad in scoring with 13.7 per game. The 6-3 center has four double-doubles this season.
Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is in her 18th season leading the Golden Eagles and has been a part of Conference USA since the 1995-96 season as she was the head coach at Memphis before moving to Hattiesburg for the 2004-05 season. She has led Southern Miss to postseason tournaments five times with four trips to the WNIT. McNelis has racked up 278 wins at Southern Miss and 507 in her coaching career.
Following the game at Marshall, Southern Miss returns to Hattiesburg to face UTSA (Jan. 6) and UTEP (Jan. 8).
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.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
The Thundering Herd enters the game with a 6-4 overall record and 1-0 in Conference USA play. The Golden Eagles come in at 8-4 overall and 0-1 in league action.
Game Details
Marshall Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: Herdzone.com
Live Video: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1
Series History: 26 all-time meetings – Southern Miss leads 16-10
Last Meeting: March 11, 2020 in Frisco, Texas – Marshall won 71-65 in overtime in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Marshall is coming off a 62-44 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday. The Herd had a dominating defensive performance and one of its best of the season. The 44 points allowed is the lowest of the year by Marshall, besting the 45 allowed in the season-opener to Bluefield State. It was the third time in 2021-22 that the Herd has allowed 50 or fewer points in a game. Marshall held the Lady Techsters to under 10 points in two quarters, making nine total quarters this season that the Herd has held an opponent to 10 points or less.
Marshall's defense allowed just 20 points in the second half for the second-consecutive game also holding Oakland to just 20 in the second half during the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Herd held Louisiana Tech to just 25 rebounds, including only 11 in the second half, and marked the first time that Marshall has held an opponent to 25 or fewer boards since Dec. 18, 2017 against Kentucky Christian (17 rebounds).
The Herd recorded 12 steals as sophomore Savannah Wheeler tied her season-high with four, sophomore Alexis Johnson tied her career-high with three and senior Aaliyah Dunham nabbed two.
Several individual career milestones were reached in the game. Senior Brianah Ferby scored her 900th career point and now has 903. She has 84 in her Marshall career. Graduate student Kennedi Colclough and Dunham both tallied their 800th career points. Colclough now has 804, with 283 during her time at Marshall, and Dunham has 801 with 65 during her time with the Green & White. Junior Lorelei Roper recorded her 50th career block with two rejections in the win.
Wheeler drained her 100th career three-pointer and is 13th all-time with 101. Kristi Huff (1988-92) is 12th with 106. Wheeler also moved into 14th all-time in career free throws attempted (333) passing Marshall Hall of Famer Lee Ann Parsley (1986-90).
Wheeler continues to lead the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game, which leads the conference and ranks 24th in the NCAA. Colclough is second with 14.4 points per contest. Wheeler and Colclough have both been efficient at the free throw line this season. Wheeler is draining 85.5-percent and Colclough is hitting 82.9-percent as they rank first and second, respectively, in C-USA.
Roper's rebounding average continues to climb as she pulled down nine more rebounds on Thursday, bringing her season average to 7.2. Roper has grabbed at least seven boards in the last five games. She also leads the Herd with 13 blocks and has tallied at least one swat in nine-straight games. Dunham is the leader in assists with 44 helpers this season. Dunham has also been very efficient with the ball as she leads the league, and ranks 32nd in the NCAA, in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.59. The senior guard has committed just 17 turnovers while running the point for the Herd. She has grabbed 26 steals and is 46th in the NCAA in steals per game (2.60).
Following the game against Southern Miss, Marshall travels to Boca Raton, Fla., for a game against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Jan. 8.
The Opponent
Southern Miss comes to Huntington after falling 98-88 at WKU on Thursday.
At WKU, Melyia Grayson tallied 24 points and 10 boards before fouling out. Southern Miss nabbed 13 steals and forced 17 turnovers. However, the Golden Eagles committed 19 turnovers. WKU drilled 11 three-pointers in the win as Meral Abdelgawad drained five from beyond the arc and scored 36 points. Southern Miss scored 56 points in the paint.
The Golden Eagles are on a two-game skid after rolling out a five-game winning streak. The streak was snapped against the Richmond Spiders, 87-75, on Dec. 20 during the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament. The five-game win streak came over Mississippi Valley State, Georgia State, South Alabama, Blue Mountain and Alabama A&M. The Golden Eagles kept all five opponents to scoring under 60 points with Georgia State's 56 being the highest.
Southern Miss has been very effective on the glass, averaging 43.8 boards per game ranking 18th in the NCAA and first in the league. The Golden Eagles rank seventh in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (16.7). It has been a team effort in the rebounding game with Grayson leading the way with 8.7 per game. Six other players are averaging at least three rebounds per game.
Domonique Davis leads the team in scoring with 14.1 per game and 4.5 assists per contest. Grayson is second on the squad in scoring with 13.7 per game. The 6-3 center has four double-doubles this season.
Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis is in her 18th season leading the Golden Eagles and has been a part of Conference USA since the 1995-96 season as she was the head coach at Memphis before moving to Hattiesburg for the 2004-05 season. She has led Southern Miss to postseason tournaments five times with four trips to the WNIT. McNelis has racked up 278 wins at Southern Miss and 507 in her coaching career.
Following the game at Marshall, Southern Miss returns to Hattiesburg to face UTSA (Jan. 6) and UTEP (Jan. 8).
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.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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