Marshall Preview
By Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports
Jan. 20, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W Va. (WMUL-FM) – Marshall women’s basketball has not found luck in the win column in the new year. The Herd aims to regain its winning charm and end a 7-game losing streak Wednesday when it welcomes the Georgia Southern Eagles.
Marshall, which has not won a contest since its 77-38 victory against NCAA Division II Davis & Elkins on Dec. 21, 2024, has lost its first seven games of conference play.
The Herd now sits at 5-13 following a gut-wrenching 68-64 loss Saturday to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a game that Marshall led for 25:41 of the contest.
The 0-7 start to Sun Belt Conference play is the program’s worst start to league play as members of the conference. The slow start is the team’s worst since starting 0-8 in Conference USA league play in the 2013-14 season.
The seven-game losing streak for Marshall is longest since the Herd lost 9 games in the 2016-17 season.
In the Herd’s loss against Appalachian State, senior guard CC Mays notched her first double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Despite its most recent loss, the Herd is 4-5 at home, with the lone non-home win being at Walt Disney World against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Georgia Southern enters the matchup sitting at 9-10, following an 88-83 loss to the Georgia State Panthers in triple overtime, falling to 2-5 in league play.
The Eagles were led by Shanti Simmons who earned her first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The matchup is a rebirth of a rivalry that dates back to both programs’ time in the Southern Conference. The two teams played 15 times in the conference between 1984 & 1997 with the Eagles having an 8-7 advance in the series up to that point.
The rivalry was reborn when Marshall joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. That season the Eagles won both meetings. Last season, Marshall won both meetings to tie the series at 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
The overall series is tied at 10 wins a piece between the Eagles and the Thundering Herd.
The matchup marks the battle of first-year head coaches at the NCAA Division I level. The Eagles are led by Hana Haden, who comes from NCAA Division II institution Georgia Southwestern State where in one season she went 29-4. The Thundering Herd is led by Juli Fulks from NCAA Division III institution Transylvania University, where in ten seasons compiled a 242-39 record and won a national championship.
The contest pairs two teams with multiple players averaging double-digit scoring. For Marshall, it’s the Sun Belt Conference leading scorer Aislynn Hayes averaging 16.5 PPG, alongside Meredith Maier (10.8 PPG) and CC Mays (10.2 PPG). The Eagles are led by Nicole Gwynn who scores 12.5 PPG, and Indya Green (11.8 PPG).
You can tune into the contest on WMUL-FM 88.1 and online at marshall.edu/WMUL. FM88 Sports Ben Anderson, and Elliott Quicke will be on the call with pregame coverage at 5:30 p.m. and tip-off at 6 p.m.