It was a game defined by runs, and Erica Woods and her Marshall University Women’s Basketball teammates could not hold on as Morehead State overcame a 10 point deficit in the final nine minutes to steal away a 53-51 win, at Cam Henderson Center.
“It’s just growing pains,” Marshall coach Matt Daniel said. “I think anytime you hold someone to 53 points you ought to win a game. I also don’t think you can let anyone score 27 points on you, but as you can tell, we’re a work in progress and it’s going to be a long, long process. The more we compete and the more we learn, and the more we grow, the better it can be more immediately. We’re not there yet by a long stretch.”
The teams traded leads early in the first half until the 8:20 mark, when senior Woods scored her first points of the season as she was fouled while scoring a layup. She made the resulting free throw to put Marshall up, 12-6.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Morehead State closed the margin to three points, but two free throws by senior Orlandria Williams put Marshall University back on track with under two minutes left.
A jumper by junior AJ Johnson extended Marshall’s lead to 22-15 at the halfway point, marking its largest halftime lead of the young season. Morehead State’s 15 points marked the fewest allowed by Marshall in a half since allowing 14 versus Southern Miss last season January 10th, 2013. Marshall forced two shot-clock violations and limited Morehead State to zero offensive rebounds in the first half.
Neither team could finish from behind the three-point arc in the first twenty minutes – combining for 0-of-17. It wasn’t until the 16:07 mark in the second half that a player sunk a three – and it was Woods, giving Marshall its largest lead of the game, 29-19. Her three-pointer would be Marshall’s only of the game, as the team went 1-for-14.
Five minutes later, Morehead State closed the gap to one point after going on an 11-to-2 run, putting the score at 34-33. Marshall answered with a 9-to-0 run of its own, from 10:27 to 8:27, and led 43-33.
After Terrice Robinson made Morehead State’s first three-pointer of the game with 8:01 remaining, Morehead State began a 12-to-1 run that would produce its first lead of the second half, 45-44, with 4:39 remaining. The teams would tie three more times before two Woods free throws gave Marshall a 51-50 lead with 1:04 left.
Robinson had the final answer for Morehead State when she drove in for a layup and was fouled with six seconds remaining. She completed the and-one to put Morehead State up, 53-51, for (notably) its largest lead of the game. Marshall could not convert a last-chance play to tie or win it. Robinson ended the game with 27 points, leading all scorers.
Woods went 1 for 4 from the Field and 1 for 4 from behind the Three Point Line, she also went 3 for 3 from the Free Throw Line for her 8 points on the night. Woods grabbed 5 Rebounds to go along with 2 Assist in 37 minutes of action.
Marshall out-rebounded Morehead State by 21 (46-25) and limited Morehead State to five second-chance points. Both teams scored 19 points off turnovers and two fast-break points, and Morehead State held a slight advantage in the paint (28-24).
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