The Marshall University Women’s Basketball Team made history on Saturday, Jan. 27, after defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles 106-95 at the Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Georgia.
“I thought it was a really good game offensively—pretty offense—and I was happy on that side of the ball,” head coach Kim Caldwell said. “We’ve got to keep taking it step-by-step, one game at a time and keep learning with each game. That’s what we’ve been doing. We have to clean up some things because we have a big week next week.”
For the first time in program history, the team has started conference play 9-0. The Herd surpassed the previous record set in the 1988-89 season by head coach Judy Southard’s team.
The contest was also the first time since March 2, 1996, that the team surpassed the 100-point mark in a conference game. The Herd faced Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference Tournament during that match.
Marshall’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half, making 12 shots from beyond the arc. The Herd’s three-point dominance continued throughout the contest, connecting on 16-29.
The Herd’s showcase of offensive prowess was led by the guard tandem of Breanna Campbell and Abby Beeman, who both tallied their season highs in scoring. Beeman provided the team with 28 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc.
Campbell went 11-18 from the field and scored 29 points along with adding five rebounds to the stat sheet. Campbell is a transfer that followed Caldwell from Glenville State University.
“It’s fun to watch her play because she plays so hard and makes a lot of things happen,” Caldwell said regarding Campbell.
On the defensive end of the court, the Herd struggled despite keeping the game out of reach on the scoreboard. The Eagle’s 95 points were the most they scored against Caldwell’s squad this season.
Georgia Southern’s Terren Ward accounted for 28 of the Eagle’s points. The Eagles out-rebounded the Herd 43-30 and outscored Marshall in the paint 58-46.
“I thought the defensive side of the ball was horrendous,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell’s first season at the helm has started hot, winning 12 of the last 13 games and putting together a record of 15-5 thus far, only two wins shy of last season’s 17.
The Herd will return from its road trip back to the Cam Henderson Center to face the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
