By GRANT TRAYLOR

Marshall Athletics

PENSACOLA, Florida –Marshall women’s basketball’s run at a Sun Belt Conference title came to an end on Friday afternoon.

The Thundering Herd never got into an offensive rhythm and James Madison came out hot from the outside as Marshall fell 62-43 to the Dukes at Pensacola Bay Center.

“Obviously, that was a tough day for us,” Marshall head coach Tony Kemper said. “You have to credit James Madison a lot. I thought their early ability to make shots panicked us.”

With the loss, Marshall’s first season in the Sun Belt Conference ends at 17-14 and with the program’s first Sun Belt conference tournament victory to its credit.  

James Madison (24-7) started out strong from the outside, knocking down four of its five 3-point attempts in the opening quarter to build a lead.

The Dukes continued their strong shooting from distance throughout, hitting 42 percent of their attempts from 3-point range in the win.

“We had been a really good defensive team for quite a few games leading into this,” Kemper said. “We were not that today. I know they made four out of five in the first quarter.”

While James Madison was able to find its rhythm on the offensive end, Marshall never was able to get its offensive game going.

The Thundering Herd shot just 32.7 percent from the floor, which included a 3-of-17 performance from 3-point range.

“It’s not the way we wanted to end it and it’s going to hurt all offseason, but hopefully that motivates people coming back – myself included,” said Marshall junior guard Abby Beeman, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds in the loss. “We really hope to be in a better position next year. 

In addition to Beeman’s output, Roshala Scott finished with a team-high 12 points for Marshall in the loss.

The Thundering Herd had three seniors who played their last game for the team: Kia Sivils, Kendall Miller and Shanniah Wright.