Marshall 71, Wofford 56
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The Wofford women’s basketball team could not hold onto its halftime lead and Marshall scored 48 points in the second to win, 71-56, Thursday afternoon from the Cam Henderson Center.

Behind great defense in the first half, the Terriers (2-8) led 25-23 and held Marshall (4-5) to a 28.6 field goal percentage. The Herd found their groove in the second half on 12-of-19 shooting (63.2 percent), also sinking 18-of-22 free throws. Wofford tried to keep pace on 12-of-29 shooting (41.4 percent) in the half, but had just four free throw attempts.

For the afternoon, Marshall outshot Wofford from the line 78.6 percent (22-28) to 55.6 percent (10-18). The Herd won the turnover battle 15-10, while the Terriers held a 38-35 advantage on the glass.

For Marshall, Norrisha Victrum led all scorers with a career-high 24 points (5-6 FG, 12-14 FT). Victrum dished out eight assists and had five boards. The Herd’s AJ Johnson also marked a career-high with 18 points (4-5 3FG, 6-6 FT). Casey Romero joined Victrum and Johnson in double figures with 10 points, coming up a rebound shy of a double-double.

The Terriers got a career-high 21 points from Logan Morris. The senior guard was 7-of-10 shooting, adding four rebounds and three assists. She was joined in double figures with 12 points from sophomore Chanel stokes and 10 points from sophomore Jordan Frazier. Frazier and stokes each had four assists, while Stokes poked away Wofford’s only three steals of the game.

Sophomore Ashton Fleming had a game-high nine rebounds and chalked up the game’s first points on the opening possession. Stokes came up with her first steal a few minutes later and turned it into a layup on the other end. Both defenses were up to the task early on with Marshall holding a slight 7-6 edge through the first five and a half minutes.

Wofford broke away first. Ahead 9-8, the Terriers went on an 8-0 run over a span of three minutes. Morris got it going with a made three and put down a reverse layup on the next possession for five straight Wofford points. After Frazier went 1-of-2 from the line and Stokes went 2-of-2, the Terriers led 17-8 at the 8:20 mark of the opening half.

The lead extended to 10. Suporia Dickens drained a trey end Marshall’s seven-minute span without a field goal, but Kirby responded for Wofford with her first made basket. Morris hit a jumper a few possessions later and the Terriers were ahead 21-11.

Marshall chopped into the lead and ended the half on a 12-4 run. The Terriers had some missed opportunities from the free throw line during the final minutes. Fleming got to the line for a pair of free throws and missed both, but Kirby grabbed the offensive board and Fleming got fouled again to go back to the line. Again, Fleming came up empty and The Herd took advantage with a Romero jumper to cut the lead to 23-20.

With 15 seconds to play before halftime, Victrum buried three to get The Herd within two. Coach Farmer called a timeout to set up Wofford’s last possession, but it wound up in a turnover and Wofford was left with just a two-point lead, 25-23, at the intermission.

At the half, Morris had 11 points to lead all scorers. Victrum had 10 points for Marshall and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. The Terriers were held without a field goal through the final six minutes after leading by 10, earning their four other points from the charity stripe.

Morris continued to make an impact early in the second half. She scored five of Wofford’s first nine points and was up to 16 at the 15:33 mark. The lead changed hands seven times in the first four minutes, resulting in a 34-33 Terrier lead.

Marshall heated up dramatically and scored their 17th point of the half in just six minutes after going for only 23 the entire first half. A 7-0 run got The Herd in front 40-34, but the Terriers responded with five straight points – a layup from Morris and a 3-pointer from senior Erin Frost – getting back within a point, 40-39. Morris was up to 18 points in the game.

Momentum swung back to Marshall. The Terriers committed their ninth foul of the half with eight minutes to play, giving Marshall a lot of opportunities to score from the line. With a pair of free throws, The Herd led 51-42, scoring six straight from the line and improving to 10-of-10 in the half.

Wofford cut into the deficit. Frazier hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six and, after Romero hit a layup, Morris dropped two more to get the Terriers back within a half-dozen. After Johnson scored five straight and Marshall got back in front by 11, Wofford shrunk the margin to six once more with a Stokes trey at the 3:01 mark, 59-53.

Marshall responded by scoring eight straight points and a Leah Scott 3-pointer all but put the game away, 67-53, with a minute to play.

 

North Carolina Central 73, Western Carolina 69
DURHAM, N.C. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (6-4) had its six-game winning streak snapped with a 73-69 loss at North Carolina Central (5-4) Thursday in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

The Catamounts watched its 10-point, 39-29, lead erode in the second half. WCU gave up 44 points in the second half to North Carolina Central.

Western Carolina didn’t seem to have an answer for the double-threat tandem of the Eagles’ Jessica Freeman, who lead the game with 26 points, and Racquel Davis who had 21. The duo combined for 47 of North Carolina Central’s 72 points.

Western Carolina connected on a season-high 11 three pointers but couldn’t overcome the 33 trips to the free throw line North Carolina Central was awarded. The Eagles hit 23-of-33 from the charity stripe accounting for almost a third of its points in the game.

Western Carolina came out with a fire in the first half, led by the explosive play of senior guard Rena Wakama. The Raleigh, N.C. native scored 18 first half points and connected on four three pointers in the opening 20 minutes.

Wakama scored just three points in the second half and ended the contest with 21 points, just two shy of tying her career-high of 23. She was the first player this season to score 20 or more points.

Shauna Terry’s lay-up, to open the second half, gave Western Carolina a 12-point, 41-29, advantage, its largest lead of the game. Freeman answered with a three-pointer for North Carolina Central and Terry struck again with a field goal. After Terry’s bucket, the Eagles scored seven unanswered points to cut the Catamount lead to four, 46-42.

Western Carolina clung to its lead for most of the second half, even building its lead back to seven, 57-50 off a pair of free throws by Justin Taylor. However, North Carolina Central kept pressing and cut the Catamount lead to one three times before tying the game at 63 off a lay-up by Tiffany Gary.

Senior guard Hana Haden hit Western Carolina’s 10th three-pointer in the game, with 2:05 remaining, to give WCU a 66-63 advantage. A jumper by Kyra Conerly and a 1-of-2 free throws by Davis tied the game at 66 with 1:07 remaining.

Davis struck again when she connected on a lay-up with 55 seconds left, giving North Carolina Central its first lead of the game, 68-66. The Eagles would not cough up the lead again. The Eagles outscored Western Carolina 5-3, in the final 30 seconds, to cling to the lead and the win.

North Carolina Central was 4-for-4 from the free throw line, in the final 14 seconds, to keep WCU at bay. Junior guard Justin Taylor hit a three-pointer, with three seconds left to slice the North Carolina lead to 71-69 but two made free throws by Gary kept the game out of reach for Western Carolina.

Three Western Carolina players scored in double figures paced by Wakama with 21. Taylor added a season-high 17 and Haden had 11.

Rebounds were even, at 35, with Western Carolina holding North Carolina Central to nine offensive boards. The Catamounts shot 43.9 percent from the field and the Eagles 46. North Carolina Central got 30 of its points inside the paint.