Marshall University Athletics
Sunday, February 13
1 PM
Marshall University
-1210,76 CUSA
60
vs
48
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UTEP
-1310,58 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
UTEP
11
6
19
12
48
Marshall
10
16
16
18
60
Stifling Defense Fuels Herd Win on Super Sunday
2/13/2022 4:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wheeler, Dunham go for 16 apiece
FINAL STATS
KEMPER PRESS CONFERENCE
JOHNSON PRESS CONFERENCE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall's women's basketball team got 16 points apiece from Savannah Wheeler and Aaliyah Dunham, while its defense shut down UTEP's long-range attack as the Thundering Herd defeated the Miners 60-48 Sunday at the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall improved to 12-10 overall and 7-6 in Conference USA. UTEP fell to 13-10 and 5-8 in the league. Saturday's result was also Marshall's seventh consecutive win over the Miners inside the Cam Henderson Center.
The Thundering Herd limited the Miners to just a 2-for-14 effort (14.3) percent from 3-point range with the first make coming in the final minute of the third quarter.
Lorelei Roper had a game-high 12 rebounds, while Dunham added four assists and Wheeler recorded three steals.
Dunham turned in her second impressive perimeter performance in as many games. She followed Thursday's 4-for-8 outing at FIU with a 4-for-6 clip Sunday afternoon.
Avery Crouse never came off the floor for the visitors and finished with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She and Elina Arike finished with six rebounds apiece and Mahri Petree added three steals.
Wheeler and UTEP's Katia Gallegos, both preseason all-Conference USA selections, were charged with seven turnovers apiece. But while Wheeler was able to find the range offensively, the Herd did not allow Gallegos to do so. The El Paso, Texas native struggled to a 2-for-9 shooting day, despite managing a team-high four assists.
Marshall led for nearly the entire first quarter before UTEP's Brenda Fontana made a putback with 10 seconds left to give the visitors their first lead.
The game was tied at 15 with three minutes left in the second period, but Marshall exploded for an 11-2 run, which included baskets from four different players and was punctuated by a Dunham triple to end the half.
UTEP cut the MU lead to five (42-37) on an Arike free throw 38 seconds into the fourth quarter. However, the Thundering Herd pulled away again, this time using a 9-2 spurt that included 3-pointers by Dunham and Alexis Johnson. That gave the home team a 12-point advantage (51-39) with 6:26 left and the lead never dropped into single-digits the rest of the way.
"That was a win we needed," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "I thought our energy level built throughout the day. I thought Aaliyah Dunham was pretty special. She handled their pressure and hit a bunch of big shots to help us separate. Lorelei (Roper) was really good late. (UTEP) tried to go inside and I thought she did a good job down there, without fouling. I thought she also made it tough on them in terms of rebounding.
"This was a good crowd and I appreciated that. We had a really good cause today with our support for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. We had a lot of pink out there and it was a fun atmosphere. It got loud on some of those makes and, this year, I think we've really built that. Our crowds have been tremendous, coming back from COVID. Everyone in our locker room really appreciates that."
The Thundering Herd led for all but four minutes Sunday.
Wheeler now has 1,165 career points and moved within 26 of Cindy McCauley for 11th on the school's all-time scoring list. She also hit three free throws Sunday, which moved her past Leah Scott (2013-16) for fourth on that list. She now has 340 over the course of her Thundering Herd career.
Brianah Ferby added five points during the win, giving her 981 over a career that begin at Austin Peay and will end with Marshall.
The Thundering Herd will now hit the road for games at Old Dominion (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.) and Charlotte (Saturday, 4 p.m.). The Monarchs are 19-5 overall and 9-3 in C-USA, while the 49ers are 13-8 and 9-2 in the league.
KEMPER PRESS CONFERENCE
JOHNSON PRESS CONFERENCE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall's women's basketball team got 16 points apiece from Savannah Wheeler and Aaliyah Dunham, while its defense shut down UTEP's long-range attack as the Thundering Herd defeated the Miners 60-48 Sunday at the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall improved to 12-10 overall and 7-6 in Conference USA. UTEP fell to 13-10 and 5-8 in the league. Saturday's result was also Marshall's seventh consecutive win over the Miners inside the Cam Henderson Center.
The Thundering Herd limited the Miners to just a 2-for-14 effort (14.3) percent from 3-point range with the first make coming in the final minute of the third quarter.
Lorelei Roper had a game-high 12 rebounds, while Dunham added four assists and Wheeler recorded three steals.
Dunham turned in her second impressive perimeter performance in as many games. She followed Thursday's 4-for-8 outing at FIU with a 4-for-6 clip Sunday afternoon.
Avery Crouse never came off the floor for the visitors and finished with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She and Elina Arike finished with six rebounds apiece and Mahri Petree added three steals.
Wheeler and UTEP's Katia Gallegos, both preseason all-Conference USA selections, were charged with seven turnovers apiece. But while Wheeler was able to find the range offensively, the Herd did not allow Gallegos to do so. The El Paso, Texas native struggled to a 2-for-9 shooting day, despite managing a team-high four assists.
Marshall led for nearly the entire first quarter before UTEP's Brenda Fontana made a putback with 10 seconds left to give the visitors their first lead.
The game was tied at 15 with three minutes left in the second period, but Marshall exploded for an 11-2 run, which included baskets from four different players and was punctuated by a Dunham triple to end the half.
UTEP cut the MU lead to five (42-37) on an Arike free throw 38 seconds into the fourth quarter. However, the Thundering Herd pulled away again, this time using a 9-2 spurt that included 3-pointers by Dunham and Alexis Johnson. That gave the home team a 12-point advantage (51-39) with 6:26 left and the lead never dropped into single-digits the rest of the way.
"That was a win we needed," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "I thought our energy level built throughout the day. I thought Aaliyah Dunham was pretty special. She handled their pressure and hit a bunch of big shots to help us separate. Lorelei (Roper) was really good late. (UTEP) tried to go inside and I thought she did a good job down there, without fouling. I thought she also made it tough on them in terms of rebounding.
"This was a good crowd and I appreciated that. We had a really good cause today with our support for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. We had a lot of pink out there and it was a fun atmosphere. It got loud on some of those makes and, this year, I think we've really built that. Our crowds have been tremendous, coming back from COVID. Everyone in our locker room really appreciates that."
The Thundering Herd led for all but four minutes Sunday.
Wheeler now has 1,165 career points and moved within 26 of Cindy McCauley for 11th on the school's all-time scoring list. She also hit three free throws Sunday, which moved her past Leah Scott (2013-16) for fourth on that list. She now has 340 over the course of her Thundering Herd career.
Brianah Ferby added five points during the win, giving her 981 over a career that begin at Austin Peay and will end with Marshall.
The Thundering Herd will now hit the road for games at Old Dominion (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.) and Charlotte (Saturday, 4 p.m.). The Monarchs are 19-5 overall and 9-3 in C-USA, while the 49ers are 13-8 and 9-2 in the league.
Team Stats
UTEP
Marsh
FG%
.328
.397
3FG%
.143
.391
FT%
.615
.455
RB
44
36
TO
19
15
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
/ Women's BasketballG
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