STRONG SECOND HALF HELPS HERD CAGE TIGERS

Marshall women's basketball forced Memphis into 12 turnovers in the second half, which the team turned into 20 points en route to a 65-54 victory over the second place team in Conference USA.

In the first half, the Herd (14-11, 5-7 C-USA) looked like it would be again be outplayed by the Tigers (19-6, 9-3) thanks to the 10 points and five rebounds recorded by star-senior forward Jasmine Lee as Memphis took a 30-22 lead into the locker room.

However, the Herd was not intimidated and came back strong in the second half.

"We kept playing, we fought through hard times," head coach Royce Chadwick said. "Basically, we showed what we are capable of, and I am very proud of my basketball team from top to bottom."

Marshall's surge started  out of the proverbial gate in the second half, forcing the Tigers into five turnovers in the first three minutes and turned those turnovers into eight points, tying the game 30 all.

The Herd then proceeded to go on a 29-6 run over the next nine minutes to take it's largest lead of the contest, 59-23.

Chadwick gave the offensive spurt, to the defensive effort of his team.

"I thought we played really good defense and did it one possession at a time," Chadwick said. "We got a lot of energy from our players even if they did not show up on the stat sheet."

Two of the players who were leaders of the intensity were two of Marshall's four-year senior guards, Alaya Mitchell and Rashedah Henriques.

Mitchell facilitated, contributing eight assists while running the point, while Henriques lead the Herd offense with 11 points on 3-10 shooting from the floor and a perfect 4-4 at the charity stripe.

All 11 of Henriques' points came in the second half after she shot 0-2 from the floor in the first half.

"After I came to the bench, my teammates and coaches told me to keep my head up," Henriques said. "The confidence they had in me was the inspiration for me to come out in the second half and perform the way I did."

As a team, Memphis became one-dimensional in the second half, with the offense running through Lee.

Lee finished the contest with a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds because Marshall could not match up defensively with the 6-2 senior from Bessemer, Ala. However, the Herd did not allow another Tiger to get close to those numbers.

The win came at a very good time for Marshall. After dropping three straight games where the result could have fallen either way, the confidence that comes with beating Memphis is invaluable.

"We wanted this game so badly," Mitchell said. "It felt like we had everything in the world against us. We, collectively, were so sick of losing."

The Herd has a few days home before attempting to continue it's late season surge in Alabama. Marshall will take on the University of Alabma-Birmingham Sunday at 3 p.m., inside Bartow Arena.

Aaron Payne can be contacted at payne122@marshall.edu.