Marshall women's basketball earned its first Sun Belt win of the season with a frenetic fourth quarter to down visiting Georgia Southern, 67-60, on Wednesday evening at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va.
The Herd improve to 6-13 overall and 1-7 in the league with the win, while Georgia Southern falls to 9-11 overall and 2-6 in the league.
The Eagles hit 7-of-13 shots from the floor in the first quarter to lead by one, 19-18, despite Marshall going on an 11-0 run in the frame. Georgia Southern extended that lead to five, 37-32, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Marshall took a 48-47 lead on Meredith Maier's three-pointer with 46 seconds left, but Paris Gaines answered for the Eagles with a three of her own to give Georgia Southern a 50-48 lead at the end of the frame.
Marshall opened the fourth quarter, however, on an 8-0 run to take a 55-50 lead with 8:12 remaining. Nicole Gwynn's three-pointer cut the lead to one, 56-55, but Marshall quickly pushed the lead back out to six, 61-55, with 6:28 left.
With 4:22 remaining, Nakiyah Mays-Prince made a layup in the paint to make the score 61-58, but Georgia Southern could only score two points the rest of the way as Marshall pulled away for the victory.
Indya Green was the only Eagle to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points. Marshall's Aislynn Hayes, the leading scorer in the Sun Belt, hit 9-of-15 shots for a game-high 25 points to lead the Herd.
Eagle of the Game
Green hit 7-of-13 shots from the floor for her game-high 14 points. She also set a season-high in steals with four, while tying her season high in assists with three.
Stat of the Game
Marhsall ended the game with a 24-10 edge in points off of turnovers, including a 9-0 edge in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the fourth quarter against the Herd
"It was simply the turnovers, we had eight in the quarter, and a lot of them at really critical times. We were just forcing things that weren't there."
Next Up
The Eagles travel to Boone, N.C., for a matchup with Appalachian State on Saturday, January 25, at 2 p.m.