— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall closed on a 9-0 run to pull away from UMBC and defeat the Retrievers, 66-53, Monday night in the WNIT Second Round at Cam Henderson Center.
The Retrievers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Ohio in overtime in first-round action Thursday, but couldn’t discover that magic this night. The visitors didn’t score in the final 3:15 of the game after Carmen Yanez had made a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 57-53.
Marshall (24-9) ended a two-game skid in its first action in 17 days. The Thundering Herd last played March 6 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament where it lost a fourth-round game to South Alabama.
“I thank the crowd,” Herd head coach Juli Fulks said. “To play at home and have that. We had a couple of runs where it got really loud.”
Fulks felt her players displayed character to bounce back after its SBC Tournament defeat.
“We didn’t like how the season finished,” she said. “We can do something about it. The last six practices were great and it showed today. I’m proud of the group and that effort.”
Marshall’s final nine points came on one free throw by Blessing King, two baskets by Timaya Lewis-Eutsey and two free throws each from West Virginia products Peyton Ilderton (Logan) and Meredith Maier (Fairmont Senior).
The teams played to a 12-all tie after one period. The Herd then led 26-23 at halftime. The third quarter proved decisive as Marshall outscored UMBC 20-14 and extended the margin to nine entering the final period.
Lewis-Eutsey led Marshall with 21 points, six assists and three blocks. Timberlynn Yeast contributed 11 points.
The Herd converted 17 UMBC (17-15) turnovers into 19 points to help the 46.9 percent shooting.
“We put a lot of pressure on the right people,” Fulks said. “We sped them up a bit. We made them respond to our style of game. We had some big stops at the right time. A good effort from a lot of people.”
After Thursday’s game in Athens, UMBC traveled by bus back to campus and returned on one for its trip to Huntington.
“For us to be in the position we’re in, I’m excited about our future,” Retrievers coach Candice Hill said. “We played a good Marshall team. Hopefully we’ll be in a position next year to win these types of games. We actually had energy. We didn’t get the stops we needed at the end. We’re a young team. We played hard. It’s who we’ve been all year. The maturity is coming. We’ll be better next year. This team makes me really proud.”
The visitors attempted just eight free throws and made five.
The Herd held the Retrievers to 36 percent shooting and blocked 11 shots.
Maier had two threes to bring her season total to 81.
“It’s very satisfying,” Maier said. “We wanted another shot after the way things ended in Pensacola.”
“Another opportunity on our home floor,” said Lewis-Eutsey, the SBC Newcomer of the Year. “In front of our fans again and we have to take advantage.”
Jade Tillman, the America East Newcomer of the Year, led the Retrievers with 16 points to go over 500 for the season. She’s been in double figures 25 straight games.
Marshall will meet the winner of a Tuesday matchup between Youngstown State and Maryland Eastern Shore in Youngstown, Ohio. The date and sight for the Super 16 matchup is to be announced.
“We’d love to be back in the Cam again,” Fulks said.
It so happens Shayna Gore, former Marshall standout, is an assistant coach at Youngstown State (24-9). Freshman Brooke Adkins played at Wayne High and Ashlynn Van Tassell of Cameron is also on the roster.