WKU will seek to extend its winning streak to three games as it makes the trip to Huntington, W. Va., to square off against Marshall at Noon (CT) on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a stretch of five road contests over its final seven games.
The Lady Toppers lead the all-time series between the two sides by a 7-1 margin, including a 73-57 win over the Thundering Herd in Bowling Green on Jan. 21 earlier this season. WKU has never lost a game in Huntington, sporting a 2-0 record on the road in the series with wins in 2015 and 2016.
Marshall enters Saturday’s tilt on a three-game skid and dropped a 72-54 decision to Louisiana Tech in its last time out last Saturday. The Thundering Herd owns a 9-3 record at home this season, but has dropped each of its last two games inside the Cam Henderson Center.
Entering Saturday’s matchup, Marshall has three players averaging double figures in Shayna Gore (17.4), Kiana Evans (12.5) and Talequia Hamilton (11.5). Hamilton leads the Thundering Herd with 6.9 rebounds per game, and Gore has dished out a team-best 73 assists and collected 45 steals on the 2016-17 campaign.
WKU will remain on the road following Saturday’s game, taking on archrival Middle Tennessee next Thursday before battling UAB in Birmingham, Ala., next Saturdayafternoon.
GAME #24 – WKU AT MARSHALL
WKU (17-6, 9-2 C-USA) at Marshall (12-10, 4-7 C-USA)
February 11, 2017 | 12:00 p.m. (CT)
Huntington, W. Va. | Cam Henderson Center (9,048)
QUICK SHOTS
– Micah Jones became the only WKU player in the program’s storied history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors three times after receiving the accolades on Feb. 9. In addition, Jones was the only C-USA player honored this season and will move on to the Academic All-America ballot next month.
– With Micah Jones just 25 points short of 1,000 for her career, WKU has the potential to field a trio of 1,000-point scorers on the same team for just the second time in school history. Kendall Noble, Tashia Brown and Jones would match the feat achieved by Lillie Mason, Kami Thomas and Clemette Haskins during the 1985-86 campaign.
– As a team, WKU is currently eighth in the nation with just 12.0 turnovers per game, a number that also leads C-USA for fewest among the league’s teams.
– Defending C-USA Player of the Year Kendall Noble is currently the only Division I player in the nation averaging at least 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the season.
– Ivy Brown moved into the top 10 on WKU’s all-time career blocked shots list after a trio of blocks against Louisiana Tech last week. Brown now has 82 swats for her career and sits in 10th place all-time for the Lady Toppers.
– Noble also hit an important milestone last week, becoming just the third player in program history to play 4,000 or more career minutes. Noble joins former WKU legends Tiffany Porter-Talbert and Crystal Kelly in the category.
– For the 2016-17 season, Noble has either scored or assisted on 35.5 percent of WKU’s points, a number that increases even further to 41.6 percent when only C-USA games are considered.
– WKU owns C-USA’s top-scoring offense through 23 games, averaging 75.5 points per outing. The Lady Toppers have scored 80 or more points eight times this season and have reached 90 points three times.
– Now sixth in school history with 171 three-pointers, Micah Jones needs just 12 more to pass Jaime Walz (1997-2000) for fifth place on the charts. Jones also sits at 975 career points and is seeking to become the 38th member of WKU’s 1,000-point club.
– Under Michelle Clark-Heard, WKU has trailed by double digits in 40 games and has rallied to win 17 times (42.5 percent of the time) when facing a double-digit deficit. Six of those victories have come in the last two seasons alone, including wins this season after trailing by 14 (Kent State) and 13 (UAB).
– Micah Jones leads all C-USA players and ranks seventh among all Division I players with a 3.20 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Jones has dished out 96 assists to just 30 turnovers and now ranks ninth on WKU’s career charts in the category with 401 assists.
– WKU is shooting 318-of-411 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line this season, an improvement of nine percent from the 2015-16 season. Currently, WKU ranks 15th among all Division I teams in free-throw percentage this season.
– WKU broke the NCAA women’s basketball record for fewest points allowed in a half by holding Lipscomb to just two first-half points on Dec. 15. The mark was also the fewest in men’s basketball since the introduction of the shot clock. In addition, WKU had six players reach double figures for the first time since Jan. 21, 2009, in the victory, a stretch of nearly eight years.
BROADCAST
Listen: 102.7 FM, 1450AM in Bowling Green (Barry Williams, pxp)
Watch: C-USA Digital Network (Online Stream)
Live Stats: WKUSports.com
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on Twitter, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
– @WKUSports –
Currie P. McFayden
WKU Associate Director of Media Relations