By: Landen Hamilton, FM88 Sports.
HUNTINGTON, W. Va (WMUL-FM) – On Friday, Nov. 6, the Marshall Thundering Herd Women’s Basketball team faced North Carolina A&T in its home opener. Both teams came into the contest at (1-0) looking to stay undefeated early in the season.
The game started slow on both sides through the first quarter as both teams were unable to get a three-point field goal to land in the first ten minutes. NCA&T started 0-2 and Marshall started 0-6 from behind the arc.
The three-point slump would not last long; to start the second quarter Marshall’s Kassie Ingram knocked down a long ball and gave Marshall its first lead of the contest 16-14 with 9:37 to go in the quarter. Just as Marshall seemed to capture the momentum, NCA&T would knock down two three-point shots and go on an 8-0 run to take a 22-20 lead. The two sides continued to go back and forth in the final four minutes of the first half. With just 1:27 to go in the half, Marshall held a 5-point lead and had gone 3-3 on its last three possessions, however it could not take the lead into the half. NCA&T completely flipped the script with two more long range buckets and took a 30-29 lead into the half.
Boths teams would trade buckets coming out of the half, neither squad could separate themselves until late in the third. With 2:44 left in the third, Marshall held a 40-37 lead. By the end of the quarter, Marshall led 48-39, the result of two three-point shots. Once the fourth quarter began, Marshall’s defense completely took over in the final 10 minutes of the game. The Herd would hold NCA&T to just 27% shooting on the night and only allowed nine points in the final 12 minutes of play. Marshall’s defensive success helped fuel the offense as Olivia Olson found her range from three-point land, netting her 13 points for the game. The Herd’s leading scorer, Cassie Gallagher, posted 17 points on the way to a 62-45 victory over NCA&T.
Marshall’s next game will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 11, against Howard University at home in the Cam Henderson Center. Pregame is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with tip off set for 6:00.
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FM88 Sports Anthony Doria and Ben Stottlemire will have the call.