(Huntington, W. Va.) – Looking to snap a three-game skid, the Delaware State women's basketball team (3-7) fell 62-47 to the Marshall Thundering Herd (5-5), in what the final contest of a season-long three-game road trip for the Lady Hornets.
With this loss, DSU dropped its fourth consecutive game, its longest losing skid of the season.
Making her first start after missing the last two games due a shoulder injury, leading scorer (21.5 ppg) and rebounder (9.4 rpg), Tierra Hawkins, scored the first basket of the game at the 19:35 mark.
After that, not much scoring occurred the rest of the stanza between both squads as the game was knotted at 19 at the break, which was the lowest scoring output for the Lady Hornets in a first half this season. As a team, Delaware State shot 28 percent (7-of-25) from the field, including going 2-for-7 (.286) from beyond the arc, to go along with 13 turnovers.
However, DSU did own the rebounding advantage at 23-17, led by Hawkins' seven.
Having a tough time on the offensive end, guard Raven Bankston went 2-for-10 (.200) from the field for five points. Coming in, she averaged 19 points per contest. Hawkins, meanwhile, added five points (2-of-6).
In the case of Marshall, it shot 25 percent (7-of-28) from the field, including 1-for-8 (.125) from three-point range. Guard/forward Leah Scott was the highest point-getter for the Thundering Herd with five points on 2-of-5 (.400) shooting.
To begin the second half, the Herd outscored the Lady Hornets 15-8 to make it a 34-27 ball game at the 14:14 mark. During this span, Marshall scored eight points in the paint, whereas DSU committed three turnovers.
Despite being down, the Lady Hornets stayed within striking distance and managed to cut Marshall's lead to one, 40-39, after guard Jade Washington made a pass to Hawkins in the paint with just over 10 minutes left in regulation.
On the ensuing possession, Marshall's Chelsey Romero was called for an offensive foul to give the ball right back to the Lady Hornets. With a chance to take the lead, guard/forward Deanna Harmon was forced into a turnover, which led to a McKenzie Akers layup on the other end.
DSU later closed the gap to 45-42 with 7:05 left in the game after Bankston drained a free throw to complete a three-point play. Nevertheless, the Herd outscored the Lady Hornets 17-5 the rest way to secure their second win in a row.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Hornets shot its second lowest field goal percentage of the season at 28 percent (17-of-60). In addition to forcing 22 DSU turnovers, the Thundering Herd scored 20 points off those miscues.
Bankston, meanwhile, finished with 21 points on a tough 8-for-24 (.333) output from the field, including a 2-of-9 performance from beyond the arc. She also committed a game-high seven turnovers and pulled down five rebounds.
Hawkins, on the other hand, recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points (4-of-14) and 13 rebounds, as the Lady Hornets won the battle on the boards (42-37).
For Marshall, three players scored in double figures, led by guard Norrisha Victrum (16 points), who went 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Victrum also finished with a team-high four assists and a game-high three steals, whereas Scott totaled 13 points (5-of-9) and forward Suporia Dickens tallied 11 points (5-of-11) and three steals. On the glass, forward Chelsey Romero recorded a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocks, to go along with four points.
After a dismal offensive first half, the Herd went 15-for-27 (.556) to finish the game at 40 percent (22-of-55).
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will be back in action at home on Dec. 29 (2 p.m.) against St. Francis.
