— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The word superlative got used often Sunday when one explained how Marshall blew past Salem, 98-41, in women’s basketball at Cam Henderson Center.
The 98 points are the most the Herd have scored in a game under first-year coach Juli Fulks. The 60 rebounds are the most for the Thundering Herd since it got 63 against Evansville in December 2018.
Marshall (3-4) enjoyed big margins over its Mountain East Conference foe in bench points, 48-10; points in the paint, 44-12; second-chance points, 22-5; and points off turnovers, 23-10.
“I was really proud of the effort,” Fulks said. “One of the nice things about December is the systems start playing out, so you can see where all the operations work together. The post-players were 7-of-8 in the first half and that has been a point of emphasis for us in practice. We have got to get them involved and we have got to get the ball into the block. Our guards did a good job seeing them and the post players did a good job finishing.”
Meredith Maier led Marshall with 15 points, Kassie Ingram with 14 and Madison Kellione 11. Blessing King, transfer from Morehead State, had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds. CC Mays and Peyton Ilderton led in assists with seven each.
“We have to learn how we can score from a lot of different positions,” Fulks said. “We’ve got the right players who can do it.”
Taja Stephens paced Salem with 14 points. The smaller Tigers shot 30 percent from the floor, 18 percent from three.
Fulks and her staff spend time charting rebound differential. Sunday the margin was 60-22.
“It helps. Every position has to rebound a little differently,” Fulks said. “It takes a lot of people to do the job right. Against Tulsa, when they finally missed, we were there to clean up the boards. If we’re undersized in spots, we have to be disciplined and have good habits in both positions.”
Blessing’s rebound total marks the most boards by a Herd player since December 2022.
“I have been doing some individual workouts with some of my assistant coaches, just trying to get over the hump and be the player I know I can be,” King said. “The staff have been helping me so much and trusting in me and it is paying off so I am happy.”
King’s off-court goal is to be a sideline reporter in sports. She remembers the game against the Herd last season when the Eagles won.
“I love it here,” King said. “I want the experiences off the court. I made sure they show me ways they can help me with my future. I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities to get the experience I need. Marshall stood out. Basketball goals and outside goals. Marshall has a great culture.”
Marshall is off until December 8 when it takes on Florida at 1 p.m. The Herd defeated the Gators last year in Huntington.
“To play an SEC team is really fun,” Fulks said. “We were just in Florida. JMU (James Madison) just got a win against them and it’s good for the (Sun Belt) Conference. We’ll try to get the second for the conference. We won last year, so it’s not insurmountable. We played a high-quality schedule from the start. I know we can play. Going in, I know we have a chance.”