Peyton Ilderton and Meredith Maier are the only student-athletes on the Marshall women’s basketball roster to play four seasons with the Thundering Herd. The West Virginia natives have become fixtures in the starting lineup for a Thundering Herd team that is off to an 18-6 start while seeking the program’s second NCAA Tournament berth in three years.
Ilderton, a Logan High School graduate, broke into the starting lineup in her senior season. She is the team’s fourth-leading scorer (8.9) and she plays 29.7 minutes per game. Maier, a Fairmont Senior High School graduate, is a two-year starter. She is third in scoring (9.6) and leads the team in three-point field goals (58).
“My family gets to come to every single game. They haven’t missed a home game,” Ilderton said. “Having that piece of home here is something that is really special to me. I hope that one day, when it is all said and done, that I can contribute to Marshall in some way past my years here.”
“I put the work in. I knew it was going to be a challenge when you come into college and everyone was the star at their high school,” Maier said. “I knew it was a challenge I was going to have to face. But I was prepared. I made sure I got my shots up in the summer. When you are preparing for the season, we don’t know what to expect. You don’t know what is going to happen or what minutes you are going to see. I am thankful for it, but it was a testament to my hard work.
“It is an amazing opportunity and I am very grateful that I was able to live this life that I have gotten to the last four years. I didn’t understand that magnitude it was going to hold. There’s a lot of hard work that people don’t see with getting to classes and making sure you stay on top of your schoolwork but also making sure you are keeping your mind clear and really having to adjust to, for me, living away from home and adapting to adulthood by myself.”
For the first time in their college careers, Ilderton and Maier are playing for the same head coach in consecutive seasons. Tony Kemper left Marshall after the 2022-2023 season. Kim Caldwell departed Huntington for Tennessee after the 2023-2024 season. Juli Fulks is in her second season leading the Thundering Herd.
“She is just so smart. Just getting to learn from her has been awesome to do,” Ilderton said of Fulks. “I am blessed that I have gotten to have her as a coach the last two years because I have learned a lot, not only about basketball but in life as well.”
“She is one of the smartest people I have ever met, on and off the court,” Maier said. “She has helped me grow as a player but also as a person. I am very grateful for that.”
Ilderton entered the Marshall program as a walk-on in the 2022-2023 season. She quickly played her way into a scholarship midway through her freshman year.
“I just started crying because I was so happy,” Ilderton said. “It just felt like a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I knew I had worked so hard to get to that point. I will always be so thankful for Coach (Tony) Kemper for believing in me and giving me that scholarship and that opportunity.”
Ilderton and Caldwell were key contributors on Marshall’s Sun Belt Conference championship team in the 2023-2024 season under Caldwell.
“[Caldwell] was so much fun to be around. Playing in a system like that, I have never gotten to do that before,” Ilderton said. “That team will always be so special to me and that coaching staff. I am obviously thankful I got to play for her in the year I did. I know Meredith is too. Having that experience of going to the conference tournament, winning the Sun Belt Championship, it makes it even more important to us because we know what it takes to get there.”
Ilderton’s playing time has steadily increased during her four seasons in the program. She has started all 24 games.
“I have never played 30-some minutes a game,” Ilderton said. “Just being able to have that mental and physical toughness is big for me. Also just being able to lead my team and step into a bigger leadership role this year is something I have been able to adapt to. It has been fun and I am truly blessed to have the opportunity I do have.”
In the most recent Sun Belt Conference stats release, Maier stands fifth in the league in made three-point field goals. She will leave Marshall ranked second on the all-time list for made triples. Maier has made 198.
“Before practice and after practice, I am consistent with my workouts and my shooting drills. I am staying on top of that, that way when the game does come, I am prepared for it and I am ready for what the other team is going to throw at us.
“We don’t take a day off. For us seniors, we don’t have many practices left and we don’t have many more opportunities. We have to take advantage of every one that we do get.”
As college teammates for four seasons, Ilderton and Maier have built a great friendship. However, the 2022 Class AAA state championship game is a topic left in the past. Ilderton’s Logan Wildcats defeated Maier’s Fairmont Senior Polar Bears, 27-26.
“It is not allowed to come up in conversation,” Ilderton said.
“She has basically been my roommate for four years. We are together every day for basketball. I always say that she is like the sister I never had, growing up with two brothers. Once we graduate in the spring, I know it is going to be a friendship forever.”
“I have an older sister but I feel like I have gained another one from Peyton. I am really thankful,” Maier said. “We are the only two in-state athletes left on the Marshall roster. That’s really special and it is nice to share that with her because we get to represent this awesome state that a lot of people overlook when it comes to sports. I am really appreciative of that and that I have gained a friend and a sister for lifetime.”
Ilderton plans to enter medical school following her graduation this spring. Maier is hoping to continue her playing career beyond the end of this season. Coaching may be in her future when her playing days are done.
“If [a playing career] doesn’t work out, I hope to plan a graduate assistant program somewhere and get my masters degree,” Maier said. “Then hopefully, I can get into coaching. That is the main goal for me. Staying around basketball is what I am most passionate about. It is something that I love and I can’t see my life without it. I am hoping I will be able to get into a coaching program somewhere.”
“It is just a testament of what God’s plan was for me,” Ilderton said. “I could have gone a different route and gone on scholarship somewhere. But I love Marshall. I love the community. We have great leadership here in (President) Brad Smith and now we have (Athletic Director) Gerald (Harrison). I think it is definitely heading in the right direction.”