HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall seniors Meredith Maier and Peyton Ilderton have come a long way together since squaring off in the 2022 Class AAA State title game.
Four years ago, Maier’s Fairmont Senior team was knocked off by Ilderton’s upstart Logan squad for the Wildcats’ first-ever girls basketball state championship. Ilderton scored a game-high 13 points that day, including a go-ahead three-point play in the final minutes, to lead Logan to a 27-26 victory.
Four years later, Maier and Ilderton played key roles in the Thundering Herd’s WNIT title-winning run. Marshall secured the crown with a 66-41 victory over Illinois State Saturday inside the Cam Henderson Center. Maier and Ilderton were guests together Monday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
“It was electric, for sure,” Maier said of Saturday’s atmosphere. “It’s almost like there was no breathing room, but I’d prefer it that way than anything else. It was a really cool experience and I’m just really grateful that we were able to go out with a win like that in front of our home crowd and on our home court, it was amazing.”
While high school opponents, it didn’t take long for Maier and Ilderton to grow close. The two were paired together to room during their first year at Marshall and haven’t looked back.
“I say in every interview I do, I’ve never had a sister, so Meredith is basically my sister now,” Ilderton said. “We’ve lived together since freshman year, and played basketball together. It’s been awesome, and I’m definitely going to miss it once it’s all said and done after this semester and we go our separate ways. We’re going to make the most of it this last month.”
“I have a sister, but it was like I had another sister,” Maier added. “Our families are close, I’ve gone to Logan, I’ve played with them, when my family comes to town, she hangs with us. We’ve definitely grown outside of just basketball and this is going to last a lifetime for sure.”
Maier (91) and Ilderton (82) finished with the most three-pointers on this year’s Marshall team.
Maier said the team approached the WNIT with their full attention.
“We chose to be there, and so we weren’t going to give it half of our effort, we were going to give it our everything,” Maier said. “Honestly, I think the group that we have, we knew that we could play with anybody, whether it was in the Sun Belt, whether it was in the WNIT, and so I’m just really happy that we were able to execute the game plan and come out with a win, because I think it just really showed everyone who we really were.”
The Thundering Herd rattled off five straight victories in the event to close the season.
Maier and Ilderton are part of a senior class that saw three different head coaches in their career: Tony Kemper (2022-23), Kim Caldwell (2023-24), and Juli Fulks (2024-present).
“Each coach played a different style of basketball, so I think that I’ve learned a lot in the basketball side of things,” Ilderton said. “Even in life, I learned things from each coach that I’ll carry with me beyond the court. Regardless of how many coaches I’ve had, I’ve learned so much and I’m so thankful for the journey I’ve had at Marshall with each of these coaches. It’s been a blessing.”
Head coach Juli Fulks concluded her second season at the helm with a 28-9 record. Maier said that Fulks advised the team to learn from the adversity of the coaching changes over their careers.
“Something that Juli Fulks preaches to our team is, ‘if we can get through adversity, we can get through anything.'” Maier said. “I think Marshall’s program has definitely been hit with a lot of adversity over my career and Peyton’s career, but you can see that we’ve overcome it and we’ve become better people because of it, and we’ve brought home some championships. I think we’re definitely better for it.”
Both Maier and Ilderton are set to graduate this May, but won’t be venturing far from the sport.
“I’m hoping to get my Master’s degree through a GA program because I want to get into coaching,” Maier said. “I just feel like basketball is my passion and I’m not ready to let go of it yet, so I’m going to stick around the sport for as long as possible, whether I’m playing or not. I’m really hoping I can get into coaching one day.”
“Next year, I’m going to be on the staff for Marshall, still be around the basketball program for a year,” Ilderton said. “Then, my plan is to apply for PA school next spring unless I fall in love with coaching, that’s my plan for now.”
Maier finished her Marshall career with 947 points and 231 three-pointers. Ilderton tallied 568 career points and 130 triples. This season is one that neither will soon forget.
“It was a blast. Being a senior, you don’t have another season of this,” Maier said. “Being a senior-led team, we kind of preached, ‘you know what, this is our last go-round, we have to have fun with it.’ Whether we are winning, losing, we have to soak up every moment, because we’re not going to get another chance at this. I personally had a blast, I know Peyton definitely had a blast, doing what we love, one last time together.”