Jan. 29, 2006
Final Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (SMU) - The SMU women's basketball team scored a huge road win on Sunday, Jan. 29, as the Mustangs topped Marshall, 72-57, at the Cam Henderson Center. SMU now records an 11-10 overall record (6-3 C-USA) while Marshall falls to 10-9 overall (5-3 C-USA).
In the first half, Marshall jumped out to a six-point lead at 17:39 (6-0) but SMU would reclaim that lead at the 12:28 mark (11-10) and not surrender it for the remainder of the game. The Mustangs went on a 10-0 run and upped their lead to 11 points (28-17) at the 4:54 mark. Marshall chipped away at that lead and got it down to as few as four points (29-25) with under two minutes in the half. SMU scored six points (and some breathing room) in the remaining time to go into intermission with a 35-28 lead. SMU shot 46.7% from the field in the half and recorded 16 points off 12 Herd turnovers. Katie Gross pumped in 12 first-half points for SMU.
In the second half, SMU continued its hot shooting, hitting 12-of-26 from the field. Freshman Elbie Gates provided relief in the paint area with 24 strong minutes of play. The Mustangs did not fold under Marshall's press and took advantage of the fast break, scoring a total of 18 fast-break points. SMU kept Marshall at bay, holding the Herd to only nine field goals in the second half. SMU hit its final bucket at the 6:09 mark while the Thundering Herd could not hit another basket after the 8:51 mark. The game came down to which team could connect on free throws. SMU's last nine points were all free throws (six of them made by Katy Cobb). Marshall's last seven points were all free throws.
The Mustangs' top scorer was sophomore Katy Cobb with a season-high 16 points. Freshman Elbie Gates posted career-high marks of 15 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore post Janielle Dodds was held to single-digit scoring for only the third time this season (nine points) and collected a career-high four steals. For Marshall, Modupe Ishola scored a team-high 12 points.
SMU, tied for third with Southern Miss (9-11, 6-3 C-USA) in league standings, gets a bit of a breather with its next game scheduled against Southern Miss on Monday, Feb. 6 at Moody Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.
