— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON,W.Va. — Call it a reversal of fortunes of major proportions. It went in favor of Marshall big time.
The Thundering Herd, which had seen Army shoot lights out in the first half and into the third period, switched things around on defense in the fourth quarter and the Black Knights went cold.
How cold?
Army didn’t score in the final 10 minutes, missing 18 shots, 11 three-pointers and all three free-throw attempts.
Meanwhile, a three-point play by Timaya Lewis-Eutsey with 6:22 remaining put Marshall ahead to stay 66-65. The margin would steadily grow and the Herd went to an 82-65 victory Monday night in a Women’s NIT Great Eight contest before 2,122 fans at Cam Henderson Center.
“Similar to last game, we have to thank everyone for coming to the game tonight,” Herd coach Juli Fulks said. “That was an absolutely amazing crowd. I’ve always been a believer when you get that kind of atmosphere you need to make sure you win. Army obviously played and shot exceptionally. We have to give them some credit. In the first half, I felt like we were doing a decent job early of running them off the three-point line and getting them deep in the shot clock. They were still able to knock down all of that mid-range stuff, too.
“I was incredibly proud of our group. When you’re playing a team who I think was 53 percent from three and 60 percent from the floor, you just have to stay in it and give yourself a chance. You’re not going to win many games if a team shoots that way for four quarters. We cut into the lead in the third. That’s the second time we’ve shutout a team in the fourth. They both won 25 games. We went to the 1-3-1 zone defense and we were able to play through it.”
Marshall also blanked Eastern Kentucky across the final frame during a December victory.
After the Herd went on top in the fourth, Meredith Maier followed with a three and Lewis-Eutey delivered another three-point play with just under 5 minutes left to increase the lead to 72-65. Lewis-Eutsey would hit a layup off an inbounds pass from Peyton Ilderton for a nine-point lead with 4:21 left, and Marshall was on its way to a third straight victory in the WNIT.
“I didn’t even know it until somebody told me,” Ilderton said of the fourth-period shutout. “It’s fun at the Cam. It’s great to have a crowd like that. In the locker room (halftime) we talked about what we needed to fix. Pick it up a little bit, do what you need to win. We didn’t want to go out the way we did in Pensacola (loss to South Alabama in Sun Belt Tournament). We have to have the intensity, be dialed in.”
Marshall advances to the WNIT Fab Four. The opponent will be familiar in fellow Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas State. The Red Wolves routed Cleveland in another Great Eight contest, 71-53, on Monday. The rematch will be played Wednesday in Jonesboro, Ark., with tip set for 8 p.m. The Herd beat Arkansas State at home in the regular season.
The Herd (26-9) has now matched an all-time program record for single-season wins.
There was a time early when the Herd would trade twos for threes with Army, which fell to 26-8. The Herd then began to get strong post play and open things up.
“Spread the floor, set screens, get to the rim,” Fulks said. “This is the second time in my career I’ve got to play into April. We’ve got so much talent, ability.”
Herd seniors are soaking in the run.
“We have good leadership, players on the team know their roles,” Ilderton said. “When we got to the huddles, we kept our chin up and told the coaches we’ve got this.”
“Get two more wins would be a great end to their careers,” Fulks said.
Lewis-Eutsey, SBC Newcomer of the Year, led the Herd with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 10 in the final 10 minutes. Ilderton poured in 16, Timberlynn Yeast 13 and Ni’Kiah Chesterfield 10.
In addition to blanking Army over the final period, Fulks said the Herd’s offense found its form. She said it was a different story in the home overtime loss to Georgia Southern.
“That’s on me,” Fulks said. “The ball didn’t move, we didn’t get looks. That cost us the game. Whatever we do, they’ll believe.”
Reese Ericson led Army with 15 points. Taylor Wilson added 13 and Kya Smith 12.
First-year Army coach Katie Kuester stressed the positive after the game. Her father, John, who coached 30 years with the last 17 in the NBA, attended this game.
“So proud of these girls,” Kuester said. “They have bought into this from day one. Unfortunately we ran out of gas. We could make excuses. In the fourth quarter, it was hard to generate anything. I can’t give up what we did on defense. It was their day. We’ll learn from this and come back better.”
“Some days the shots won’t fall,” Ericson said. “They were able to respond. It was like an NBA game back and forth. We needed to adjust and move faster. It was a great atmosphere. It’s fun any time the home crowd’s great like that. I enjoyed the fans being in the game. Kudos to the environment.”
Marshall won the battle in the paint, 44-18. The Herd made 14-of-20 free throws to 3-of-5 for the Black Knights. Army, despite cooling off, had 10 threes for the third time this season.
The other Fab 4 contest will pair Illinois State against South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. Illinois State beat Cleveland State and South Dakota topped Montana State in the two other Great Eight quarterfinals. Semifinal winners will meet Saturday for the title. Game time is 3 p.m and the site is TBA.