HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Marshall women's basketball used a 19-3 first-half run to build a cushion and collect a 90-43 Sun Belt Conference victory over visiting Georgia Southern on Friday evening in the regular season finale for both teams.
The Thundering Herd moved to 23-6 overall and 17-1 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Georgia Southern falls to 14-17 overall and 4-14 in the Sun Belt.
The Eagles and the Herd were tied at 9-all through the game's first five minutes, but Marshall stepped up the pressure and created five turnovers during a 10-3 run that ended the quarter with the Herd holding a 19-12 lead.
In the second quarter, three straight three-pointers in the first two minutes extended the run to 19-3 as Marshall took a 28-12 lead with 8:08 left to go until halftime. The Herd then led at halftime by a 39-23 margin.
The third quarter was all Marshall as the Herd scored 34 points in the period, compared to just 10 for the Eagles, to build an unassailable margin.
Kayla Thomas led the Eagles with 13 points, while Simone James added 10 points. Three Herd players led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points apiece - Abby Beeman, Aislynn Hayes and Sydni Scott.
Eagle of the Game
Thomas registered her first career double-double by hitting 6-of-11 shots for her game-high 13 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds on the night.
Stat of the Game
Marshall scored 43 points off of the 32 turnovers forced on the evening. By comparison, the Eagles scored 12 points off of Marshall's 18 turnovers.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the season finale at first-place Marshall
"We played them tough in the second half in our house, and they knew it. So they were going to come out and be a little more aggressive and they did just that. I didn't think we handled their pressure like we needed to, like we did in the first time we played them. Having 32 turnovers, playing on their Senior Night - it was the perfect storm. They played with a little more edge."
Next Up
Georgia Southern will be the No. 12 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference tournament and will play against No. 13 seed Texas State at 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 5, in first round action at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.
