Marshall edges JMU in overtime
39 turnovers prove costly for the Dukes
Meredith Maier scored 16 of her 20 points after halftime, Aislynn Hayes had nine of her 19 in overtime and Marshall earned its second NCAA Tournament berth with a 95-92 win over James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game Monday at Pensacola Bay Center in Florida.
The Thundering Herd overcame their worst shooting game of the season to reach the Big Dance for the first time since 1997, in part because Hayes hit two 3-pointers in overtime and the team made 11 of 12 free throws.
Breanna Campbell added 15 points for Marshall (26-6), which set a school record for wins. Abby Beeman had 10 points, 11 assists and four steals.
Hevynne Bristow had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the defending champion Dukes (23-11), the third seed. Peyton McDaniel had 20 points, Kseniia
Kozlova had 16 and Heritage High graduate Annalicia Goodman 10.
A game that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes — and only seven seconds of one team holding a double-figure lead — had some very unusual stats.
JMU committed 39 turnovers that Marshall turned into 48 points. The Dukes had a 59-50 rebounding advantage, but the Herd had 33 offensive rebounds for 25 second-chance points.
The Herd put up 99 shots, making 30. The 8 of 46 from 3-point range (17.4%) was the worst percentage of the year for Marshall.
The Dukes shot 51% (27 of 53) and were 5 of 11 from 3-point range.
JMU tied the score at 76 with two free throws by Goodman with 6.6 seconds to go in regulation.
Big 12 semifinal No. 6 Texas 71, No. 16 Kansas State 64:
Madison Booker had 17 points, Shay Holle hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with just more than a minute to go, and Texas advanced to the tournament title game rematch against fourth-seeded Iowa State. Aaliyah Moore added 14 points for Texas, which blew a 14-point lead before rallying from a 57-55 deficit with four minutes to go.
Ayoka Lee had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the No. 3 seed Wildcats.
In the first semifinal, Audi Crooks had 25 points, Addy Brown added 16 and fourthseeded Iowa State romped to a 85-68 victory over top-seeded and No. 19 Oklahoma.
Hokies drop in AP poll: Virginia Tech fell two spots to No. 11 in Monday’s Associated Press poll after losing an ACC Tournament semifinal to eventual champion Notre Dame, which rose five spots to No. 9.
ACC runner-up North Carolina State dropped one spot to No. 11 after falling to the Irish.
Southern California rode a Pac-12 Tournament championship to its best ranking in 38 years, No. 3. South Carolina remained a unanimous No. 1, receiving all 35 first-place votes from the AP national media panel.