Marshall Women’s Basketball is headed to the WNIT Fab 4 after a powerful finish Monday, March 30, at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Thundering Herd defeated Army West Point 82-65 in front of a loud and supportive home crowd, closing the game with a 21-0 fourth quarter to secure the win.
Marshall and Army traded momentum for most of the night in a game that remained close through the first three quarters. After trailing at halftime, the Herd went back out and completely shut-out any possibility of a comeback.
Marshall head coach Juli Fulks credited both her team’s composure and the energy from the home crowd for the Monday night performance.
“Similar to last game, we have to thank everyone for coming to the game tonight,” Fulks said. “That was an absolutely amazing crowd. I’ve always been a believer [that]when you get that kind of atmosphere you need to make sure you win.”
The Herd’s variety of high-scorers helped to push them closer to victory. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey finished with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 10 points made in the final quarter. Peyton Ilderton added 16 points, Timberlynn Yeast scored 13 and Ni’Kiah Chesterfield with 10.
Fulks said Army’s strong shooting early in the game tested Marshall throughout the first half.
“Army obviously played and shot exceptionally,” Fulks said. “We have to give them some credit. In the first half, I felt like we were doing a decent job early of running them off the three-point line and getting them deep in the shot clock. They were still able to knock down all of that mid-range stuff too. I was incredibly proud of our group. When you’re playing somebody that’s shooting that well, you just gotta stay in it and give yourself a chance.”
The game was far from easy early on. Army came into Huntington with 26 wins of its own and controlled much of the first half, shooting efficiently and forcing Marshall to keep playing catch-up. Although the Herd tried to stay close, the Black Knights carried a seven-point lead into halftime.
Marshall began to shift momentum in the second half. The Herd briefly took the lead in the third quarter before Army responded again to regain control, but they ultimately failed to keep that control in the final 10 minutes.
Army missed all 18 of its shot attempts in the fourth while Marshall continued to find success on the offensive end. The Herd had 11 more free throws than Army and outscored them 44-18 in the paint.
For a local fan, the intensity of the game and atmosphere kept her on the edge of her seat.
“It was a really exciting game,” said Huntington resident Sarah Collins, who attended with her family. “It was so fun to watch, and I mean that makes it so easy to cheer them on and support them, and the fourth quarter just kept getting better and better. It was great.”
The fourth quarter shutout marked the second time Marshall has held an opponent scoreless in a quarter this season. The Herd also shut out Eastern Kentucky in a December game, which was the first time in program history that feat had been accomplished. With the win, Marshall also matched a program record with 26 wins in a season.
Marshall will now travel to face Arkansas State in the WNIT Fab 4 Wednesday, April 1.
Ella Hatfield can be contacted at [email protected].
