A thundering herd awaits the SIU women’s basketball team as it returns home after a Dec. 22 win against SEMO.

Marshall (9-1) has three players who average double-digit scoring and ranks second in Conference USA scoring, averaging 79 points a game.

Senior guard/forward Leah Scott (17.2 PPG), freshman guard/forward Shayna Gore (15.8 PPG) and junior forward Talequia Hamilton (10.1 PPG) lead a three-pronged attack that can score from all over the floor. Scott and Gore are shooting 31 percent from the three point line, and Hamilton is one of the most efficient scorers inside, making 63 percent of her shots in the paint, which ranks her first in the conference.

Fresh off her record setting game against SEMO, SIU senior center Dyana Pierre will be a defensive anchor inside if she can stay out of foul trouble. She ranks first in the MVC in rebounds with 11.4 a game and blocks averaging 2.5 per game.

The Salukis will lean on the scoring of junior guard Rishonda Napier, who is second in the conference in scoring with 15.7 points a game.

The Salukis look to rain three-pointers down on Marshall’s defense as they are the best outside shooting team in the MVC, converting on .329 percent of their shots led by Napier (.449 percent) and senior guard Cartesha Macklin (.334 percent). 

Marshall beat Morehead State 104-101 on Nov. 13. The Salukis set the school record for most points in a game against Morehead State on Dec. 12 with a final of 102-69.

The Thundering Herd’s sit atop their conference with the team’s lone loss of the season against rival West Virginia (10-2) and are still looking for that big win as their nine wins have came against opponents whose records are a combined 36-65.

SIU hasn’t played Marshall since 2013 — a 82-59 loss — and is 9-17 all-time against opponents from the C-USA.

Ted Ward can be reached at [email protected] or 618-534-3303.