Women’s Basketball Preview
By: Ethan Patrick, Sports Socials Director, FM88 Sports
Huntington W.Va – Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, Marshall has its sights set on an even better year. That pursuit begins with its first matchup of the season.
Marshall is coming off a program-record 28-win season that ended with a WNIT title. Now in her third season as head coach, Juli Fulks will have to work several new players into the lineup as the Herd looks to build on last year’s success.
Marshall returns seven players and adds seven newcomers. The Thundering Herd will get its first chance to see how the pieces fit together Friday when it hosts UPIKE in an exhibition at the Cam Henderson Center.
Olivia Olson is one of the key players back in Huntington. The sophomore guard averaged 12.9 while making 42 three-pointers her the 16 games she got to play before an injury cut her freshman season short. On the defensive front senior forward Leyocha Marigney also returns after leading the team with 57 blocks last season.
UPIKE finished 16-14 last season and reached the semifinals of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament, falling 64-61 to top-seeded Milligan. The Bears return Anika Stehbens, who averaged 16.2 points per game as a freshman and earned AAC Freshman of the Year honors.
Friday’s matchup gives Marshall an early test against a UPIKE team coming off a competitive postseason run. For the Herd, the focus will be on getting its new lineup comfortable on the court and seeing how its returning players fit alongside the newcomers before the regular season begins.
Fans can find live coverage of the series on FM88.1 or streaming at www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1 with FM88 Sports’ Ethan Patrick and Max Chaffin on the call with pregame coverage scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and tip-off at 6:00 p.m. Additional coverage will also be available on X through @WMUL_Sports.