Box Score | Postgame Press Conference Video | Postgame Notes
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Senior Alexis Govan scored 15 of her team high 22 points in the second half to help WKU start its tenure in Conference USA with a road win, posting a 67-53 win over Marshall at the Cam Henderson Center on Sunday afternoon.
Govan, whose play in recent weeks has rivaled that of her stellar sophomore campaign where she finished ranked in the top 15 in the nation in scoring, reached the 20 point mark for the fourth time in six games and continued her torrid shooting pace that saw her shoot over 69 percent from the field in the month of December. Govan missed much of last season with a stress fracture in her left tibia.
Senior All-American candidate Chastity Gooch had 10 points and 13 rebounds in posting her first double-double since the Nov. 25 outing at Louisville. Junior guard Micah Jones added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for WKU while freshman Tashia Brown had 10 points.
With the victory, WKU (12-2, 1-0) won its first league game as a member of Conference USA. The program joined the conference on July 1, 2014 after a lengthy tenure in the Sun Belt Conference that saw the Lady Toppers claim 10 regular season and 10 postseason tournament championships. WKU also made three Final Four appearances during its time in the league.
WKU has won nine straight games, 11 straight conference games and its last four games on the road.
WKU built a 15-point first half lead on the Thundering Herd midway through the half thanks to an 11-0 run that saw four different Lady Toppers score. The WKU lead went from 16-12 to 27-12 thanks to a 3:38 drought by Marshall. The Thundering Herd responded with a 9-0 run of their own to pull within six at 27-21 before two baskets from Kendall Noble and a three by Micah Jones extended the lead back to double-digits, settling on a 34-23 advantage at the break.
WKU forced 12 turnovers before the break, resulting in nine points, as the WKU defense limited Marshall to just 11-of-30 shooting from the field before the break, a 36.7 percent clip. WKU shot 45.2 percent in the opening stanza, including a 3-of-7 mark from behind the three-point arc.
Marshall cut WKU's halftime lead to five early in the second half at 37-32 before Noble made a three late in the shot clock out of a timeout to go up 40-32. WKU extended its lead with a 7-0 run, part of a stretch where Govan scored nine straight for the Lady Toppers. The Herd didn't go away, cutting the lead to seven at 51-44 with 7:43 left but never got closer than 10 down the stretch after WKU scored five straight out of a timeout after the lead was cut to seven.
Brown scored seven of her 10 points in the content in the final 3:02 to help WKU maintain its late lead.
Marshall (8-4, 0-1) was held to just 1-of-16 from behind the three-point arc after entering the game averaging 7.5 made three-point field goals per outing. Marshall's Chukwuka Ezeigbo had a game high 23 points and 15 rebounds, hitting 11-of-12 shots in the game, to pace the Herd in place of their normal excellence from behind the three-point arc.
WKU handed the Herd their first loss at home this season with the conference season lid-lifter victory.
WKU is halfway through a four-game road trip that concludes with a pair of conference games next week. WKU plays at Charlotte on Jan. 8 and Old Dominion on Jan. 10 before returning home on Jan. 15 against Florida Atlantic for the annual Spread the Red Education Game at 11:00 a.m. CT.
Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at WKUSports.com or by calling the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIG RED or 745-5222 locally.
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