Marshall Women’s Basketball Welcomes UMBC For Second Round of WNIT

 By Ben Anderson


    After ending the season in heartbreak in fourth round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Marshall women’s basketball has the chance to redeem itself and keep its postseason title dreams alive as it welcomes the UMBC Retrievers to the Cam Henderson Center tonight for the second round of the WNIT.


    Marshall also has the chance to send its seniors out on a positive note at the Cam Henderson Center after the Herd fell to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion Georgia Southern, 78-72, in overtime. The game carried high stakes for the Herd, as a win would have given it win No. 24, — the most regular-season wins in program history, surpassing the mark set by Kim Caldwell’s 2023-24 squad.


    Senior guard Timaya Lewis-Eutsey said that it’s a blessing to have the opportunity to play in front of the Marshall crowd for one more time in her career.


    “It’s very exciting,” Eutsey said. “We love playing at the Cam. Like coach (Juli Fulks) said we do have six seniors. I think it’s just an opportunity for us to kind of leave it out all on the floor and do our best to make history here Marshall and just give the Cam another good show.”


    Lewis-Eutsey said that the time off allowed the players to heal and get into the right mindset.


    “The couple of days off, they help you get your legs back under you,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “With that time, I think everybody just took some time to their self to kind of figure out where they are, how they felt about everything. And, when we were presented with the opportunity to play in the postseason, we were very excited to get back on the court.”


    Marshall enters the contest at 23-9 and is led by second-year head coach Juli Fulks, who has an overall record of 36-29 at Marshall. UMBC, of the America East Conference, arrives to Huntington with a 17-14 record and is playing in its second game of the tournament after defeating Ohio, 62-58, in overtime on the road Thursday night in the first round. The Retrievers are led by second-year leader Candice Hill, who is 31-28 with the program. 


    At the time of its elimination, Marshall was battling several injuries in its rotation. Fulks said that the time off has allowed the team to get healthier and better prepared for the WNIT. 


    “We spent the first few days this week just playing a lot of five-on-five,” Fulks said. “It had been a long time since we were healthy enough to do that. So, we played a lot of five-on-five and tried to make sure we are also having a lot of fun. All we’re really trying to do is make sure we learn, get better, grow, and have fun while we’re doing it.”


    Marshall is hosting its first ever home postseason game in program history, and the contest marks the first meeting between the Thundering Herd and the Retrievers. Marshall is playing in its sixth postseason tournament all time, while the Retrievers are making their fifth appearance in the postseason. 


    The winner of the contest will meet the winner of Maryland Eastern Shore and Youngstown in the Super 16 at a date and time to be determined. 


    The contest will be broadcast on the Cutting Edge Sports Radio Network on WMUL 88.1 FM and online at Marshall.edu/WMUL on Stream 1. FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson & Nate Courtney will be on the call with pregame coverage at 5:30 and tip-off at 6 p.m.

 


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