Marshall University’s women’s basketball team will open the C-USA tournament Wednesday with a chance for revenge against University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Thundering Herd ended the regular season at 16-13 (8-10), good for the ninth seed in the tournament, while the 49ers are just ahead at 14-16 (10-8) with the eighth seed. The Herd lost its last game of the regular season to the Niners team, 66-58, in the Cam Henderson Center.

Marshall begins conference play without its floor general, as junior guard Norrisha Victrum has missed the past two games and will miss the remainder of the year with a torn Achilles tendon.

Sophomore guard McKenzie Akers and senior guard AJ Johnson have stepped up and taken over ball handling duties in her absence.

Head coach Matt Daniel said he thinks Akers and Johnson are making the most of the situation.

“I think they’re doing the best they can,” Daniel said. “It limits us bodies so their fatigue is involved as well, but I think they’re doing a fine job.”

The Thundering Herd is participating in C-USA tournament play for the ninth straight season but has never made it past the semi-finals round.

Daniel said a lot of people did not have his team even making the tournament this year.

“I think every game is preparation for post season play,” Daniel said. “A lot of people had today being our last day of basketball and were not there. I think that’s a measure of where we’re headed and what we’ve gotten accomplished so far this year but our year is not over.”

Senior center Chukwuka Ezeigbo and forward Leah Scott will attempt to prove their All-C-USA Second Team Honors to be no fluke with their leadership throughout the tournament.

Tipoff is set for 5 p.m., and the winner will face top seeded Western Kentucky University Thursday in the quarterfinals stage.

Adam Polsky can be contacted at [email protected].