Marshall Women’s Basketball held Louisiana to its lowest-scoring game of the season and defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns 74-42 on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at home at the Cam Henderson Center.
“I’m not usually happy, but I am happy with that one,” head coach Kim Caldwell said following the 32-point victory. “That team is better than they looked.”
The game, which took place on Marshall’s Education Day and National Girls and Women in Sports Day, saw around 2000 students from local schools filling up the arena. Caldwell said the energy the students had was unmatched.
“To get those kids out of school and into those seats is a once-in-a-year experience type of thing,” Caldwell said. “To have people scream for that long.”
Despite two starters being out due to injury, point guard Abby Beeman was pleased with the players who stepped up to fill the gap.
“There was an emphasis on everyone just stepping up,” Beeman said.
“Some people exceeded that, and we definitely had everyone contribute, not just one person.”
Like her coach, Beeman was also excited about the atmosphere created by students in the crowd.
“They say that we’re relentless for 40 minutes, and those kids were today for 40 minutes,” she said. “It’s cool to have that atmosphere, and, hopefully, they keep coming back.”
In the game, the Herd opened with 11 straight points in the first six minutes to take a 20-8 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw Marshall outscore the Ragin’ Cajuns 21-14 en route to a 41-22 halftime lead. Breanna Campbell scored a buzzer-beater three-pointer from about 30 feet out to close the first half.
Marshall shot 35% on 6-for-17 shooting in the second quarter. Three of the made shots in the second were three-pointers.
The third and fourth quarters were no different, seeing the Herd outscore Louisiana 19-10 and 14-10 per quarter, respectively.
The game saw three Marshall players score in double figures. Beeman was the top scorer for the Herd with 14 points on 7-for-16 shooting. Sydni Scott had 11 points on 3-8 shooting with six points from beyond the arc; she was also 3-for-4 on free throw shooting. Campbell scored 10 on 3-for-7 shooting with two three-pointers; she also had eight rebounds.
Following the win, Women’s Basketball is 17-6 overall and 11-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.
