HUNTINGTON — With apologies to the Righteous Brothers, the Marshall University women’s basketball team’s theme song now might be “You’ve Lost that Losing Feeling.â€
The Thundering Herd broke a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 67-60 victory over Georgia Southern at Cam Henderson Center. The win was Marshall’s first since a 77-38 triumph over Davis & Elkins on Dec. 21.
“Obviously, I’m really excited for our team to finally get that win and get that monkey off our back,†MU coach Juli Fulks said. “We spent the whole week talking about how we can get one possession better. We’ve really wanted to play faster and with a lot more defensive pressure. Some of the circumstances with players having the flu and different things hasn’t allowed us to do that.â€
The Herd (6-13, 1-7 Sun Belt Conference) took a 51-50 lead on a 3-point play by C.C. Mays eight seconds into the fourth quarter. It never trailed after that.
After Marshall built the lead to six, Nakiya Mays-Prince pulled Georgia Southern within 61-58 with 4:22 to play. The Herd’s Madison Kellione, though, beat two defenders on the baseline for a basket and a 63-58 lead.
“That was a helpful play,†Fulks said of Kellione’s basket. “We had so many plays like that where somebody went above and beyond and was able to change things.â€
Aislynn Hayes’ free throws boosted the Herd’s lead to seven with 1:06 left and Georgia Southern never seriously threatened after that.
“I just try to make stuff for my teammates,†said Hayes, who scored a game-high 25 points. “If I make the shots early, [the defense] is going to collapse around me when I go to the basket and I can kick out knowing my teammates are going to make that 3.â€
Hayes finished with 25 points and Mays tallied 17. Indya Green scored 14 to pace the Eagles (9-11, 2-6).
Georgia Southern did considerable damage early, jumping to a 13-3 lead. Marshall rallied using a press the likes of which hadn’t been seen since last season to take the lead.
“Getting everybody healthy and being able to be in the full court for most of the game really helped us,†Fulks said.
The Herd led 30-29 after Blessing King’s steal and layup 4:08 before halftime, but Georgia Southern closed the half on an 8-2 run to go up 37-32.
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Marshall’s home game with Southern Mississippi scheduled for Saturday has been moved to 1 p.m. Sunday. The shift was made because of inclement weather in the Southeastern U.S. The snow and ice caused travel delays, prompting James Madison to move its Thursday game with Southern Miss to Friday.
