Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, February 24
Huntington, W.Va.
6 PM
Marshall University
-1312,88 CUSA
57
vs
65
Middle Tennessee
-205,123 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
25
9
16
15
65
Marshall
14
13
18
12
57
Savannah Wheeler at the free throw line
Blue Raiders Hold off Herd Rally in Eight-Point Win
2/24/2022 9:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wheeler goes for 22
FINAL STATS
WHEELER PRESS CONFERENCE
KEMPER PRESS CONFERENCE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Courtney Whitson scored 19 points to lead three Blue Raiders in double figures as visiting Middle Tennessee won 65-57 at Marshall on Thursday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Blue Raiders improved to 20-5 and 12-3 in Conference USA's women's basketball standings, while Marshall dipped to 13-12 and 8-8 in the league.
Alexis Whittington and Courtney Blakely added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for head coach Rick Insell. Whitson narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards. Whittington added four assists.
Marshall was led by Savannah Wheeler, who scored 22 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 10-for-10 from the free throw line. The Catlettsburg, Kentucky native also added seven rebounds, while Aaliyah Dunham contributed five assists.
Middle Tennessee roared to an 11-point lead (25-14) through one quarter and grabbed its largest advantage (27-14) on a Kseniya Malashka layup 34 seconds into the second period. The Herd, though, chopped the margin down to six points twice before the visitors grabbed a 34-27 lead at the half.
Middle's Jaylnn Gregory drilled a triple to open the third, but then the Herd went on an 11-0 run to grab a 38-37 lead on a Dunham three-pointer at the 5:07 mark.
Marshall had a three-point advantage at 41-38 but then surrendered an 9-0 run to the Blue Raiders on five points by Blakely, a three-pointer by Whitson and a free throw by Anastasiia Boldyreva to build a 47-41 lead with 1:40 left.
The visitors pushed the advantage back to 13 (63-50) on a Whitson layup at the 1:54 mark of the fourth quarter.
Middle's Whitson, Gregory and Whittington combined to shoot 11-for-19 (57.8 percent) from the perimeter.
The Blue Raiders led for 37 minutes, 27 seconds and won the rebounding battle 32-27.
"You have to credit (Middle Tennessee)," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "They came on the road and were tremendous in the first quarter. "It didn't matter who we left open, they made shots. That's a good basketball team and we knew that. They're tough and physical. We were definitely different than we were (in Murfreesboro), which we knew we had to be.
"I'm proud of our fight but nobody's really excited about 'You were close'. That's not what we're trying to do."
Wheeler now has 1,226 career points and moved into ninth on the school's all-time scoring list, passing Karla May (1,216, 1982-86). Next up is Sheila Johnson (1,326, 1987-91) who is eighth.
Wheeler's two three-pointers Thursday gave her 135 for her career, tying her with McKenzie Akers Newman (2013-17) for sixth on that Marshall list.
Marshall's Brianah Ferby netted nine points against Middle to give her 990 points in a career that started at Austin Peay and will finish with the Thundering Herd.
Marshall will be back in action Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 CT tip at WKU in E.A. Diddle Arena.
WHEELER PRESS CONFERENCE
KEMPER PRESS CONFERENCE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Courtney Whitson scored 19 points to lead three Blue Raiders in double figures as visiting Middle Tennessee won 65-57 at Marshall on Thursday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Blue Raiders improved to 20-5 and 12-3 in Conference USA's women's basketball standings, while Marshall dipped to 13-12 and 8-8 in the league.
Alexis Whittington and Courtney Blakely added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for head coach Rick Insell. Whitson narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards. Whittington added four assists.
Marshall was led by Savannah Wheeler, who scored 22 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 10-for-10 from the free throw line. The Catlettsburg, Kentucky native also added seven rebounds, while Aaliyah Dunham contributed five assists.
Middle Tennessee roared to an 11-point lead (25-14) through one quarter and grabbed its largest advantage (27-14) on a Kseniya Malashka layup 34 seconds into the second period. The Herd, though, chopped the margin down to six points twice before the visitors grabbed a 34-27 lead at the half.
Middle's Jaylnn Gregory drilled a triple to open the third, but then the Herd went on an 11-0 run to grab a 38-37 lead on a Dunham three-pointer at the 5:07 mark.
Marshall had a three-point advantage at 41-38 but then surrendered an 9-0 run to the Blue Raiders on five points by Blakely, a three-pointer by Whitson and a free throw by Anastasiia Boldyreva to build a 47-41 lead with 1:40 left.
The visitors pushed the advantage back to 13 (63-50) on a Whitson layup at the 1:54 mark of the fourth quarter.
Middle's Whitson, Gregory and Whittington combined to shoot 11-for-19 (57.8 percent) from the perimeter.
The Blue Raiders led for 37 minutes, 27 seconds and won the rebounding battle 32-27.
"You have to credit (Middle Tennessee)," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "They came on the road and were tremendous in the first quarter. "It didn't matter who we left open, they made shots. That's a good basketball team and we knew that. They're tough and physical. We were definitely different than we were (in Murfreesboro), which we knew we had to be.
"I'm proud of our fight but nobody's really excited about 'You were close'. That's not what we're trying to do."
Wheeler now has 1,226 career points and moved into ninth on the school's all-time scoring list, passing Karla May (1,216, 1982-86). Next up is Sheila Johnson (1,326, 1987-91) who is eighth.
Wheeler's two three-pointers Thursday gave her 135 for her career, tying her with McKenzie Akers Newman (2013-17) for sixth on that Marshall list.
Marshall's Brianah Ferby netted nine points against Middle to give her 990 points in a career that started at Austin Peay and will finish with the Thundering Herd.
Marshall will be back in action Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 CT tip at WKU in E.A. Diddle Arena.
Team Stats
MTSU
Marsh
FG%
.422
.400
3FG%
.393
.269
FT%
.762
.833
RB
32
27
TO
15
16
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
10
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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