Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
5-4,0-0Sun Belt
USF
9-3,0-0AAC
Herd Women’s Basketball Drops Hard-Fought Contest at USF
12/14/2022 2:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Roshala Scott finishes with new career-high, 28 points
Box Score | Coach Kemper Post Game
TAMPA, Fla. – The Marshall Thundering Herd (5-4) battled a physical South Florida Bulls (9-3) squad, dropping the game 77-68 in front of a loud crowd of 5,573 at the Yuengling Center in Tampa.
Junior guard Roshala Scott scored a career-high 28 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc.
Redshirt-junior Mahogany Matthews also set a career-best 20 points on 7-13 shooting. Junior Abby Beeman finished a rebound shy of her first double-double of the season, with 13 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
The Herd gathered 29 rebounds despite facing a South Florida team first in its conference, and 20th in the country in rebounding margin.
"We played a good basketball team today," Head Coach Tony Kemper said. "It was physical, the energy in the building was great. I thought our team handled it pretty well, but it was a fun environment to play in. I think we grew, I think we are a better basketball team now than we were when we came in here today as long as we take the lessons and hold onto them and put them into work in our next game against St. Bonaventure and on down the road."
Marshall matched the early burst of energy possession for possession with the homestanding Bulls, with Scott and Matthews knocking down early triples. Scott scored her 11th point of the opening quarter to give Coach Kemper's side a 14-12 lead, before USF closed the first on a 13-0 run.
The visiting Herd responded with a 25 point performance in the second quarter, with crucial second chance points from Beeman and Shanniah Wright. Marshall trailed USF, 45-39 at the break.
A 7-0 Marshall run greeted the fans to open the second half. Consecutive jumpers from Matthews, with an old-fashioned three point play from Wright gave the visitors the lead midway through the third. But the Bulls closed the quarter on a 19-4 run to lead by 14 going into the final frame.
Coach Kemper's side battled until the end, with Matthews and Scott closing out the game with scores to set their new career-marks.
South Florida came away with the 77-68 win in a game where Coach Kemper saw growth from all players on the team.
"My feeling with us walking out of there today was that you can feel the ones who have been through an environment like that, and you can feel the ones that needed the 6-7 minutes that they got tonight so that they can grow as basketball players. I think that there are lessons in there today that they learned and I think that they will be better for that."
UP NEXT
Marshall returns home to face St. Bonaventure on Sunday, December 18 at 1:00 p.m. from the Henderson Center. Sunday will be a Holiday Game.
Fans can wear "Ugly Holiday Sweaters and Hats" for $1 admission to the game. Santa Marco will also be making an appearance to take pictures and kids can participate in other fun Holiday stations.
For all the latest information about Marshall women's basketball, follow @HerdWBB on Twitter and Instagram.
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