Knights cook up Madness, end Herd’s season

TULSA, Okla. — For roughly 39 minutes, Marshall University's women's basketball team seemed to handle March.

Then the Madness hit.

Clinging to a three-point lead with under 40 seconds left on the game clock and five seconds remaining on the shot clock, the Thundering Herd's Alaya Mitchell drove to the right elbow and through a pair of UCF defenders.

The sophomore, playing in her fourth career Conference USA Tournament game, spotted Kendra King, a senior not trying to make this tournament game her last, wide open on the low block.

King caught Mitchell's pass and calmly put up a shot that hit glass, rim, then the hands of the Knights' D'Nay Daniels.

She missed it.

Back went UCF the other way, hurrying like it had a plane to catch. Angelica Mealing knifed inside and dished out to Chelsie Wiley, who swished a three-pointer.

Tie ballgame, headed to overtime.

March Madness indeed.

The eighth-seeded Knights then outscored the ninth-seeded Herd 12-10 in the extra session to take Round 1 of the C-USA Tournament 59-57 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

"Everything is deflating and exhilarating in March," Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick said of the game's crucial five-point swing. "When you hit a big-time basket, it electrifies the whole bench. When you have an opportunity that slips through your fingers, it brings your bench down a bit.

"That was just one of the swing points of the game."

The game's first half swung in UCF's direction, courtesy of Marshall's inability to take care of the basketball.

The Knights led by 10 at the break, thanks to a Herd stat line that read: 17 points, 17 field goal attempts, 17 turnovers.

UCF pressed, trapped and zoned Marshall's way into pure offensive inefficiency.

Seven different Herd players turned the ball over, including four from All-C-USA Third Team member Tynikki Crook.

"It wasn't the second pass or third pass that we couldn't make — it was the first one," Chadwick said. "We could not make the first pass to set us up and get us on offense."

On Marshall's second possession of the second half, Mitchell set the tone that drastically changed the Herd's fortunes.

Instead of dribbling just past midcourt to set up the offense, she kept going — all the way to baseline.

There she had defenders flock to her, allowing for Angelica "Stick" Harris to spot up at the elbow.

Stick stuck the shot, and Marshall was back in business.

"In the first half, we were trying to create stuff with the pass and screen each other open," Chadwick said. "UCF was so physical with us in pushing through screens.

"In the second half, we tried to be more aggressive off the dribble."

That aggression sparked a 14-4 run, which had the Herd up five with 3:42 to play in regulation.

Mystee Dale, who attempted all of one field goal in the first half, suddenly was a force down the stretch, scoring 14 points in 16 minutes.

Like Mitchell, she kept her dribble alive until she got in position to make a play.

Her one-on-one skills resulted in buckets and good looks that Marshall didn't see in the first half.

"Coach Chadwick just told us to go out and play," said Dale, who finished with a career-high 21 points. "I felt like somebody had to step up."

Everything seemed up for the Herd until King missed that shot and Wiley hit that three.

Momentum switched to UCF in the overtime, especially after Crook, who complied her seventh straight C-USA Tournament double-double with 18 points and 12 boards, fouled out with 42 seconds left.

The Knights made its final six free throws to seal its spot in tomorrow's quarterfinal game against No. 1-seed Tulane.

Dale had an opportunity to tie the game at 55 with 27 seconds left, but missed a jumper.

GAME NOTES: Marshall (14-16) finished with 27 turnovers ... UCF (11-15) was led by Wiley's 19 ... This is the Herd's first losing season since 2002-03 ... Marshall had just six points in the paint in the first half but finished with 22 ... The Herd was 12 of 21 from the free throw line.

Andrew Ramspacher can be contacted at ramspacher@marshall.edu.