Nov. 4, 2005

A Mid-American Conference East Division championship. Back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in eight years. A 12-game win streak, the longest in 33 years. A school record for conference victories. A win over eventual WNIT finalist and Big East member West Virginia. AP and ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Poll votes. A school record 7,000-plus fans at a December game versus Kentucky. A school record five MAC Player of the Week nods.

The accolades listed above are a few of the highlights of the 2004-05 Thundering Herd. While Marshall's ultimate goal of an NCAA bid fell short, its future looks even brighter as four starters - including eight of its top nine scorers and rebounders - return for the Herd's inaugural season in Conference USA. Head coach Royce Chadwick's squad, 19-10 last season, enters a new era of basketball with the hopes of earning Marshall's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1997.

Chadwick believes that he has the horses to get the Herd running confidently toward that goal. Marshall's fifth-year coach has had to manage a group of young, inexperienced college players the past few years, eliciting some growing pains along the way. But there is no coach in basketball that wouldn't enjoy growing pains that bring about a division championship and several school records. With the maturation of highly-touted recruiting classes and several new faces that are expected to immediately contribute, Marshall fans have more reason than ever to exude high optimism for 2005-06.

The excitement that Marshall's move to C-USA has generated has not only gripped the Huntington community, but it has given the women's basketball program a renewed sense of significance. Jumping from the 19th ranked basketball conference to No. 8 gives the Herd improved competition, a chance to expose the program to a larger portion of the country and an enhanced opportunity to play basketball past the conference tournament. With four new conference foes having played deep into March along with a three-time defending conference champion joining the league, the jump in competition will be a challenge for Marshall, but one that is welcomed by all.

Backcourt
A conversation about the Herd's backcourt cannot start without the name Sikeetha Shepard-Hall. The eighth most prolific scorer in Marshall history, Shepard-Hall enters her senior campaign with an unbelievably high ceiling for success. The Houston, Texas, native scored her 1,000th point last season to become the first MU player to reach that mark entirely during the Herd's eight-year run in the MAC. She will more than likely shatter the school record for 3-point field goals by season's end while ascending up the school's other career charts.

Shepard-Hall's mystical moves and supernatural scoring ability have made her the face of Marshall women's basketball and the type of athlete that Chadwick covets, but it is her level of play in the month of March that may author her legacy. In 11 career games in March, Shepard-Hall averages 19.2 points per game, considerably higher than her 13.9 career average. With one last march toward that mythical month left in her career, don't expect Shepard-Hall and Co. to have any spring break plans other than competing for a conference title and beyond.

One of Marshall's three 5-foot-8 senior guards, Shepard-Hall is joined by Mary Pat Statler and Reshundra Smiley to form Marshall's most veteran-laden position. Statler, whose 37.2 percent 3-point percentage her sophomore season was the seventh best mark in MU history, will try to regain her shooting touch after a drop-off last season. Smiley, perhaps the quickest player on a very quick team, emerged into a starter last season and contributed additional outside shooting and a winner's mentality.

"Experience is the No. 1 factor that helps our backcourt," Chadwick said. "All three senior guards are outstanding basketball players and all three can do the things you need on the perimeter, bringing a unique facet to the game."

Marshall's other backcourt veteran, junior Teyonka Hodge, is quickly developing into one of the most talented point guards in the nation. Chadwick had the luxury of bringing the 5-foot-5 spark plug off the bench last season, but her 27.1 minutes per game made her an integral "sixth starter" whose playmaking ability is matched by few. Hodge has the ability to take over a game, as evident by her MVP performance in Marshall's win over West Virginia last season in which she scored 20 points while getting to the free-throw line 16 times. Junior college transfer Bridget Chacón will also get a chance to run the point. A two-time national steals leader while at Cochise (Ariz.) C.C., Chacón brings an amazing sense of anticipation on defense and a spirited leadership facility to the team.

Returning to the floor after a transfer season a year ago is deep threat Jill Justice, a component to the team that Chadwick believes will pay immediate dividends.

"Jill brings that shooter's mentality to the backcourt and complements what Sikeetha, Teyonka and Reshundra bring to the table," he said. "She can really pass the basketball and can definitely shoot it. She is the missing ingredient of this team."

Newcomers Alyssa Hammond and Meg Withrow are two players that have an expertise in putting the ball in the basket. Multiple 50-point games in high school and a knack for playing multiple positions made Hammond a top recruit and one that may log considerable minutes in her freshman season at both guard and forward. Withrow, the most prolific scorer in West Virginia high school history, transfers from UNC Wilmington to return to her home state to quarterback the Herd offense.

"If this group buys into their roles, we have the chance to have a really good backcourt," Chadwick said.

Frontcourt
A successful frontcourt traditionally boasts a dominant center. Fortunately for Chadwick, his team has one. Unfortunately for Marshall's opponents, the coach potentially has three. Junior Modupe Ishola has the size, power and lane presence to not only dictate play in the middle, but the authority to free up Marshall's talented guards. Ishola's high block and rebound numbers are expected to be joined by higher point production numbers as Chadwick hopes to isolate the 6-foot-2 bruiser more in the lane.

"We'd like to run some more single post ups for Modupe," Chadwick said. "She's had the best fall season of any of our returnees."

Although Ishola's physical presence is domineering, she is actually the smallest of the Herd centers when compared to junior Michele Hagan and freshman Kari James. Hagan will gear up for her second season at Marshall and the 6-foot-5 Houston native brings a different dimension to the post than Ishola, including outside range. James, 6-foot-4, has been a tremendous surprise in the preseason and made the most improvement over any other freshman. Her grasp of the college game, including her footwork and hand-eye coordination, will determine how quickly she breaks into the lineup.

Swingman KaShawna Curry will get the opportunity to play on the perimeter more this season due to an influx of talented personnel at Chadwick's disposal. Chadwick hopes to face her up to the basket more in effort to better utilize her superior athletic ability. Curry's respectable numbers in 2004-05 (7.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.8 bpg) should continue to rise as her 37 career starts through two seasons have no doubt given her confidence and poise as an everyday player in the lineup.

The biggest improvement on the team from 2003-04 to last season was undoubtedly the play of Crystal Champion. The gritty forward broke onto the scene by nabbing All-MAC Honorable Mention honors a year ago after leading the MAC in rebounding for much of the year and averaging nearly a double-double for the season. Champion's remarkable development was in no way mutually exclusive to the team's overall success, making her a strong candidate for the team's MVP award.

Freshman Kendra King, a former Virginia state MVP and two-time state champion, is a welcome addition to the Herd frontcourt. King has already established herself as a solid player at the forward position and has the best opportunity to play quality minutes due to her untiring work ethic. With a more-polished game, King could evolve into an invaluable sixth man for Chadwick.

Schedule
Marshall's schedule features nine teams that qualified for postseason play last season, four of which are new conference foes. Houston and Rice qualified for the NCAAs while Tulsa and SMU were selected for the WNIT field. Fellow C-USA newcomer UCF won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship the last three years. These facts lead to a tougher strength of schedule and a higher RPI, giving Marshall a better chance at its No. 1 goal: the NCAA Tournament.

Conference USA will present numerous challenges in Marshall's first season in the league. Besides a jump in competition from the Herd's MAC slate, C-USA demands an arduous travel schedule that will test the Herd's resolve all season long. The northern-most school in C-USA, Marshall leaves the snowy travel in the MAC behind.

The Herd's non-conference schedule is perhaps the toughest in school history. Marshall will tangle with the defending NCAA champs, the Baylor Bears, in the Caribbean Classic three days after facing the Cal Bears in Cancun. Baylor returns All-American and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Sophia Young, along with two other starters. As if that wasn't enough outside competition, Marshall will take on NCAA participants Virginia and Virginia Tech along with West Virginia and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (WNIT). WVU, which the Herd defeated in the annual Toyota Capital Classic in 2005, ran all the way to the WNIT finals while UVa advanced to the second round of the NCAAs.

With a brilliant mix of young and old, big and small, physically-dominant and speedy players, Marshall fans have every reason to believe in the Herd in 2006.