Tulane University
Marshall
Women's Hoops Defeats C-USA Foe Marshall, 64-54
Feb 11, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Senior guard Chassity Brown, junior point guard Roshaunda Barnes and sophomore center Brett Benzio scored 13 points each as the Tulane University women's basketball team defeated Conference USA foe Marshall, 64-54, Thursday evening at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Green Wave scored the first five points of the contest and never trailed at any point in the ballgame. The Green Wave hit just 38.0 percent of their shots on the day (19-of-50), but hit free throws down the stretch when they counted to improve to 18-5 on the year and claim sole possession of first-place in the C-USA standings with a 7-3 league record. Marshall, meanwhile, fell to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in league play.
"It's funny how things go sometimes," Tulane head women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton said. "We shot so well in our last two practices here and obviously shot the ball well against SMU. Then we come in here and had so many shots just rim out. They were in and then out, especially the 3-pointers. It was a hard-fought victory."
Tulane led 31-20 at halftime and stretched the advantage to as many as 16 at 44-28 with 12:17 left to play in regulation. The Thundering Herd, however, rambled back to slice the deficit to eight under four minutes later and made it a six-point affair at 46-40 with 7:20 left on the clock.
The Green Wave, meanwhile, answered with a 5-0 rally to push the lead back up to 11 only to see Marshall follow with a 6-2 rally to cut the Tulane edge down to seven with 4:32 to go. A Barnes 3-pointer made it a double-digit affair and the closest the Herd would get the rest of the way was eight.
The Tulane defense had 11 steals, forced 22 turnovers and turned the Marshall miscues into 17 points. The Wave also outscored the Herd off the bench, 21-10. A big reason for that was the performance of Benzio, who hit 3-of-6 shots from the field and connected on 7-of-10 free throw opportunities while leading the team with eight rebounds. She also had a pair of blocks and an assist in her most extensive action since Tulane's 58-55 win at Tulsa on Jan. 15.
"Brett looked like Brett today for the first time in quite a few weeks," Stockton said. "That's something we really need...that presence inside. She had eight rebounds and had her hands on about four more that she just needs to keep and secure. That made a big difference for us today."
Junior forward Danielle Nunn also tallied a double-digit scoring total against the Thundering Herd with 10 points and was second on the squad with seven rebounds. Barnes paced the Green Wave with four assists and Brown led all players with four steals.
Marshall's Erica Woods led all players with a game-high 16 points while Kendra King and Chantelle Handy each had 10. Handy tied Benzio for game-high rebounding honors with eight, Alaya Mitchell tied Barnes in assists with four and King paced the Heard with a pair of steals.
Tulane returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 13, when the Green Wave travel to Greenville, N.C., to take on East Carolina at noon (CST) in Minges Coliseum. The Pirates are currently a half game behind Tulane in the league standings at 64-54 victory over UTEP on Thursday to improve to 18-6 overall and 7-4 in C-USA.
"They're a good team," Stockton said of the Pirates. "This is one of those games you sort of circle on the schedule as being a key game. They play very well at home. We just told the team that if they want to compete for a championship, this is one that you need to try to take. Hopefully, we'll be ready to play."
From there, Tulane's next home game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18, when the Green Wave play host to Memphis at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. The Wave will then kickoff a basketball doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 20 against UAB at 4 p.m. with the Tulane men's team tipping off against Marshall at 7 p.m.
Next Thursday's game against Memphis will be Tulane's Pink Zone contest as the team will wear pink uniforms and a percentage of the proceeds will go toward the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Saturday's contest, meanwhile, will be the final home game for seniors Brown and Indira Kaljo and the duo will be honored with a special ceremony prior to the start of the contest. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
