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Sports

Marshall topples Lady Cougars at home

Thundering Herd's inside game too much; fouls send Marshall to line 22 times in second half

by ARICA JEFFERSON
The Daily Cougar 

The Lady Cougars suffered a tough loss 57-50 at home to Conference USA newcomer Marshall on Monday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Lady Cougars were plagued again by the lack of an inside presence that could match the strength, height and weight of the Marshall team. Head coach Joe Curl knew there was a size difference for the post players on the inside but did not use that as an excuse for the loss.

"We tried to be physical. (We) came out and used our feet and quickness against (Modupe Ishola), but they stayed the course maybe a little better than we did," Curl said.

The post game played a factor in the loss; Ishola finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, and foul trouble on behalf of the Lady Cougars didn't help the situation. Marshal shot 22 free throws in the second half alone. 

A crucial shooting foul on freshman guard Becky Gibson with 1:29 left in the game sent Marshall's Sikeet Shepard-Hall to the free throw line. Shepard-Hall hit both free throws, which put Marshall up 50-53. The Herd did nothing but trot away after that. Shepard-Hall finished with 17 for Marshal.

UH struggled to make baskets, shooting only 30.8 percent from the field in regulation. The Cougars shot 9-33 in the second half. 

Curl said he wanted his team to shoot the ball better but noticed the decline in shooting percentage in the first half. Curl said they might have overdone it and shot themselves out of the game.

"Sometimes we shoot ourselves outside the rhythm of the game, but when we push the ball and play our butts off on defense, we're pretty good," Curl said.

Freshman guard Sha'Ratta Hawkins did have a shining note for the team, receiving her second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

Sophomore guard Tye Jackson lead all scorers with 20 points and tied with sophomore guard Ryan Meyers in steals with three a piece.

The Lady Cougars' next move is on the road to New Orleans to play round two of this year's C-USA series Friday. Senior forward Emily Fryters is ready to put this loss behind them and redeem themselves against Tulane.

"We are going to get them back. We know them now. We know their strengths and weaknesses," Fryters said. "We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We just have to go out there and play hard."

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