Marshall University Athletics
Saturday, January 8
Boca Raton, FL
2 PM
Marshall University
at
Florida Atlantic
Alexis Johnson
Herd Hits Road for Battle with Owls
1/6/2022 10:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
First league road tilt comes in Boca Raton
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Marshall women's basketball team heads for Boca Raton for a 2 p.m. tip at Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
The Thundering Herd enters the game with a 7-4 overall record and 2-0 in Conference USA play. The Owls come in at 4-7 overall, as this will be the team's first Conference USA game. FAU had road games at Charlotte and Old Dominion postponed last week.
Game Details
Game Notes: Marshall (PDF)
Live Stats: Florida Atlantic
Live Video: ESPN+
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online at http://listen.streamon.fm/wfghhd5 with Jason Corriher
Series History: 11 all-time meetings – Florida Atlantic leads 6-5
Last Meeting: March 7, 2020 in Boca Raton – Florida Atlantic won 68-50
Marshall is coming off a 72-55 win over Southern Miss on Saturday in the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall's defense came to play, holding Southern Miss to just eight points in the first quarter and nine in the second. It was the third-straight game that the Herd held its opponent to 20 points or fewer (17) in a half. Marshall limited the league's leading rebounding team – that came in averaging 43.8 boards per game – to 33. The Herd tallied 44 boards including 19 on the offensive glass.
Marshall was 12-of-33 from beyond the arc (36.4-percent) while Southern Miss hit just three 3-pointers on 15 attempts (20 percent). The Herd committed 19 turnovers but then held the Golden Eagles to just 13 points off of those miscues. Marshall shot 18-of-20 from the line, good for 90 percent.
Sophomore Savannah Wheeler was shut out in the first quarter, going 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-5 from three. However, she caught fire in the second quarter and continued to roll, finishing the game with 30 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor and tied her career-high with five made 3-pointers. It was her third game of the season with at least 30 points and fourth of her career. Wheeler has reached double-digits in 14-straight games and for the 49th time out of 59 career games. The Catlettsburg, Ky., native also finished one rebound short of a double-double, tying for the game-high with nine and added five assists.
Wheeler now has 953 career points and is also tied with Kristi Huff (1988-92) for 12th in Marshall's all-time records with 106 made 3-pointers.
Graduate student Kennedi Colclough finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, scoring in double-figures for the 43rd time in her career. She added three boards, two assists and one block. Senior Brianah Ferby tallied 10 points, also her 43rd career game with 10 or more, including going 4-for-4 from the line, adding four rebounds and two steals. She recorded her 300th career rebound in the first quarter.
Senior Aaliyah Dunham scored nine points, hitting three treys in the win. She also added two assists and one steal. Freshman CC Mays tallied seven points and a career-high four assists. Sophomore Alexis Johnson finished with four points, five rebounds and one assist. Junior Lorelei Roper did not score; however she tied her career-high with four blocks and grabbed six rebounds, all on the offensive glass. Roper made things difficult in the middle for Southern Miss's post players as the three combined for just 14 total points on 4-of-13 shooting. Roper and the Herd defense held USM's Melyia Grayson to just two points and three boards. Grayson came into the game averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Roper continued her shot-blocking streak to 10-straight games.
Junior Kia Sivils pulled down three rebounds with one assist and one block. Freshman Aarionna Redman had one board, one assist and one steal.
The Opponent
The Owls have been waiting to get back on the floor against outside competition, having not played since a 65-63 loss to Alabama A&M on Dec. 20.
FAU had a four-game skid, all in close games, at the end of November with losses at Miami (56-46), at North Florida in overtime (85-79), at home against Tulsa (70-68) and versus Davidson (61-58). Five of the Owls' seven losses have been by 10 points or less. Florida Atlantic is just 3-4 at home to begin the year, suffering losses while hosting home tournaments during Thanksgiving and then right before Christmas.
As a team, the Owls are averaging 68 points per game, while allowing just 64.4 points per contest.
Amber Gaston leads the team in scoring with 14.1 per game and is third with 6.6 rebounds per contest. She has scored in double figures in every game except for the last contest against Alabama A&M (nine). Gaston has three double-doubles this season and put up a season-high 25 points and added 12 boards against North Florida. She was named C-USA Player of the Week after registering 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in a win over Florida Memorial.
During the recent two-game skid (December 19-20), the Owls were without two of their best players in Alexa Zaph and Janeta Rozentale. Zaph is averaging 12.3 points per game (second on the team) and leads with 15 made 3-pointers. Rozentale is averaging nearly a double-double with 12.2 points and 9.2 boards per game. She ranks 58th in the NCAA in rebounds per contest.
Head coach Jennifer Sullivan is in her first season at the helm. This is her first head coaching job, however she has 16 years of experience as an assistant or associate head coach at Tennessee, Ohio State, Missouri State, Louisiana, Arkansas State, McNeese State and Rhodes. She was a four-year letterwinner at Memphis from 2001-05.
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 HerdZone.com.
The Thundering Herd enters the game with a 7-4 overall record and 2-0 in Conference USA play. The Owls come in at 4-7 overall, as this will be the team's first Conference USA game. FAU had road games at Charlotte and Old Dominion postponed last week.
Game Details
Game Notes: Marshall (PDF)
Live Stats: Florida Atlantic
Live Video: ESPN+
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online at http://listen.streamon.fm/wfghhd5 with Jason Corriher
Series History: 11 all-time meetings – Florida Atlantic leads 6-5
Last Meeting: March 7, 2020 in Boca Raton – Florida Atlantic won 68-50
Marshall is coming off a 72-55 win over Southern Miss on Saturday in the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall's defense came to play, holding Southern Miss to just eight points in the first quarter and nine in the second. It was the third-straight game that the Herd held its opponent to 20 points or fewer (17) in a half. Marshall limited the league's leading rebounding team – that came in averaging 43.8 boards per game – to 33. The Herd tallied 44 boards including 19 on the offensive glass.
Marshall was 12-of-33 from beyond the arc (36.4-percent) while Southern Miss hit just three 3-pointers on 15 attempts (20 percent). The Herd committed 19 turnovers but then held the Golden Eagles to just 13 points off of those miscues. Marshall shot 18-of-20 from the line, good for 90 percent.
Sophomore Savannah Wheeler was shut out in the first quarter, going 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-5 from three. However, she caught fire in the second quarter and continued to roll, finishing the game with 30 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor and tied her career-high with five made 3-pointers. It was her third game of the season with at least 30 points and fourth of her career. Wheeler has reached double-digits in 14-straight games and for the 49th time out of 59 career games. The Catlettsburg, Ky., native also finished one rebound short of a double-double, tying for the game-high with nine and added five assists.
Wheeler now has 953 career points and is also tied with Kristi Huff (1988-92) for 12th in Marshall's all-time records with 106 made 3-pointers.
Graduate student Kennedi Colclough finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, scoring in double-figures for the 43rd time in her career. She added three boards, two assists and one block. Senior Brianah Ferby tallied 10 points, also her 43rd career game with 10 or more, including going 4-for-4 from the line, adding four rebounds and two steals. She recorded her 300th career rebound in the first quarter.
Senior Aaliyah Dunham scored nine points, hitting three treys in the win. She also added two assists and one steal. Freshman CC Mays tallied seven points and a career-high four assists. Sophomore Alexis Johnson finished with four points, five rebounds and one assist. Junior Lorelei Roper did not score; however she tied her career-high with four blocks and grabbed six rebounds, all on the offensive glass. Roper made things difficult in the middle for Southern Miss's post players as the three combined for just 14 total points on 4-of-13 shooting. Roper and the Herd defense held USM's Melyia Grayson to just two points and three boards. Grayson came into the game averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Roper continued her shot-blocking streak to 10-straight games.
Junior Kia Sivils pulled down three rebounds with one assist and one block. Freshman Aarionna Redman had one board, one assist and one steal.
The Opponent
The Owls have been waiting to get back on the floor against outside competition, having not played since a 65-63 loss to Alabama A&M on Dec. 20.
FAU had a four-game skid, all in close games, at the end of November with losses at Miami (56-46), at North Florida in overtime (85-79), at home against Tulsa (70-68) and versus Davidson (61-58). Five of the Owls' seven losses have been by 10 points or less. Florida Atlantic is just 3-4 at home to begin the year, suffering losses while hosting home tournaments during Thanksgiving and then right before Christmas.
As a team, the Owls are averaging 68 points per game, while allowing just 64.4 points per contest.
Amber Gaston leads the team in scoring with 14.1 per game and is third with 6.6 rebounds per contest. She has scored in double figures in every game except for the last contest against Alabama A&M (nine). Gaston has three double-doubles this season and put up a season-high 25 points and added 12 boards against North Florida. She was named C-USA Player of the Week after registering 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in a win over Florida Memorial.
During the recent two-game skid (December 19-20), the Owls were without two of their best players in Alexa Zaph and Janeta Rozentale. Zaph is averaging 12.3 points per game (second on the team) and leads with 15 made 3-pointers. Rozentale is averaging nearly a double-double with 12.2 points and 9.2 boards per game. She ranks 58th in the NCAA in rebounds per contest.
Head coach Jennifer Sullivan is in her first season at the helm. This is her first head coaching job, however she has 16 years of experience as an assistant or associate head coach at Tennessee, Ohio State, Missouri State, Louisiana, Arkansas State, McNeese State and Rhodes. She was a four-year letterwinner at Memphis from 2001-05.
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 HerdZone.com.
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Tuesday, March 31