By GRANT TRAYLOR
Marshall Communications Associate AD
MONROE, La. – Marshall’s Women’s Basketball team clinched at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title on Saturday after a 99-90 win over ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana.
With the win, Marshall ends its lengthy road trip at 4-0 and moves to 21-6 overall and 15-1 in Sun Belt Conference action.
“We are happy to get the win – especially after being on the road for two straight weeks,” Marshall Women’s Basketball coach Kim Caldwell said. “Any time you can win against a great team – and that’s a great team – on the road, we’ll take it.”
Abby Beeman led the Herd with 25 points while Aislynn Hayes added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Breanna Campbell also had 20 points and six rebounds in the balanced effort.
Marshall took control of the game in the third quarter as Breanna Campbell scored 12 of her 20 points during the frame as the Herd turned a two-point deficit into a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter.
The strong quarter was capped when Campbell found Aislynn Hayes for a 3-pointer to produce a 79-67 lead.
One of the keys in the run was the effort of Marshall on the glass. After being out-rebounded 27-19 in the first half, Marshall doubled up ULM on the glass in the second half (23-11) to end the game on the plus side of the rebounding margin.
“I think our offensive rebounds won us the game, without a doubt,” Caldwell said. “We gave up 18 second-chance points in the first half…and we did not box out well, but our offensive rebounds – especially in the second half – won us the game.”
The third period was the second straight quarter in which the Thundering Herd eclipsed the 30-point mark, which helped the team erase a 17-point deficit in the early stages of the second quarter.
ULM came out on fire on Senior Day, scoring 32 points in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead early.
That lead grew to 35-18 early in the second quarter before the Herd used a 12-2 run in a 2:04 stretch late in the first half to help cut the deficit to 49-47 at the half.
Marshall now shifts its focus to the final week of the regular season with a pair of games taking place at Cam Henderson Center.
The Herd has a chance to clinch the outright Sun Belt regular season title at 6 p.m. on Tuesday against Georgia State before returning for Senior Day at 6 p.m. Friday against Georgia Southern.
To purchase tickets for those contests, contact the Marshall ticket office.
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