Marshall Women’s Basketball’s historic season came to an abrupt end on Friday, March 22, losing 92-49 to the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Virginia.
“I appreciate every Marshall fan that tuned in. I appreciate every Marshall fan that was here in green,” head coach Kim Caldwell said. “It was great to see our fans come out and show out in a hostile environment. We appreciate you, and we’re sorry we didn’t give you a better show.”
The Hokies dominated the Herd in their home stadium, Cassell Coliseum, where the team had a perfect record.
Marshall finished the season with a record of 26-7, the most wins in a single season in program history, along with the team clinching its first tournament appearance since 1997.
“You have to take a second and reflect on the entire year as a whole, not just the last few hours,” Caldwell said. “There’s going to be some time where we – hopefully, quickly – can look back and celebrate our season.”
The Herd kept the contest close for the first 10 minutes, going into the second quarter down 18-12. From that point, Virginia Tech stopped the often-efficient Herd offense in its tracks. Going into halftime, the Hokies pushed the once minimal difference to a 17-point lead 24-13.
“It was a big momentum changer because we were only down seven, and we had 1:30 left, and they went on a 10-0 run, and we were down 17 at half,” Marshall guard Abby Beeman said.
In the third quarter, Marshall’s defense came apart, allowing 36 points from the Hokies and only scoring nine. Throughout the game, the Herd couldn’t find its groove offensively, shooting only six of 41 from beyond the arc, considerably low compared to the team’s season averages.
In her final game, Beeman was the only Marshall player who finished the game in double-digits, scoring 12 points.
