Two 22-point performances by graduate student Abby Beeman and junior Aislynn Hayes helped the Marshall Women’s Basketball Team defeat Coastal Carolina 97-85 at the Cam Henderson Center on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Beeman became the fourth player in team history to reach the 2000-point mark in the victory, but she wasn’t focused on reaching the barrier, she was focused on getting the win.
“It feels good, but I was just out there to win. I wasn’t chasing that,” Beeman said during the post-game press conference.
Along with her 22 points in the game, Hayes also finished with 10 rebounds which gave her the first double-double of her season.
The team went into halftime with a 49-31 lead over the Chanticleers, thanks in large part to nine three-point field goals in the first half, seven of which came in the first quarter.
In the victory, four Marshall players scored in double figures. Beeman and Hayes had 22 points each, sophomore Meredith Maier had 12 points and sophomore Sydni Scott had 14 points.
Scott made four of the team’s 14 three-point shots during the game.
The 12-point win gave Marshall its fourth-straight victory over Coastal Carolina, but Kim Caldwell, the first-year head coach of the Herd, knew it was going to be a tough game after a 72-60 win at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 13.
“We knew that they were going to be tough,” Caldwell said. “Almost an identical game to last week, just more scoring here as it was at their place. They don’t quit and we knew that coming in.”
Marshall had a 45%field goal rate in the game with 31 made shots on 69 shots attempted. Of the shots made, almost half were three-pointers with Marshall making 14 out of 39 three-point shots attempted.
Coastal Carolina had two 20-point scorers in junior Arin Freeman and graduate student Deaja Richardson. They had 20 and 26 points, respectively.
Coastal freshman Alancia Ramsey was the third double digit scorer with 16 points on the day.
Coastal shot 50% from the field on 30 shots made out of 60 attempted. Three of the Chanticleers’ shots were three-pointers.
The loss puts Coastal Carolina’s record at 1-6 in Sun Belt play and 7-13 overall.
After the win, Marshall is now 7-0 in Sun Belt Conference play and 13-5 overall, the team’s best start since the 1988-89 season when coach Judy Southard’s team finished their season with a final record of 18-10.
The Herd, the top-ranked team in the Sun Belt Conference, will travel to James Madison University for a game against the second-ranked team on Wednesday, Jan. 24. If Marshall wins their contest against JMU, they will be two wins ahead of the next team in the conference.
