Kendall Noble recorded a number in every statistical category against Marshall in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday. The junior guard had 17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two blocks. 

The only thing that escaped Noble on Thursday night was a victory for her team— something she cannot accomplish on her own.

Sixth-seeded Marshall took down the third-seeded Lady Tops 66-63 in Bartow Arena.

Advertisement

“Kendall is Kendall,” Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “She always seems to find a way to help put us in a position to win and that’s what we always talk about. I’m just really proud of her. We were right there. I mean we didn’t get blown out. [Marshall] did a great job and [I give] a lot of credit to them.”

WKU started the game by knocking down seven of 13 shot attempts and carrying an eight-point lead into the second quarter. From that point on, the offense stalled and Marshall’s zone defense halted any momentum for the Lady Tops. 

WKU struggled mightily against the zone, shooting 35 percent in the second quarter alone, and finishing the game at just 42 percent from the field.

“We acted like we hadn’t seen a 2-3 zone,” Clark-Heard said. “We struggled at times to make shots, and that dictated how we played. We’d always played where we fed off our defense and today we kind of changed a little bit.”

The Thundering Herd took its first lead of the game in the third quarter before the two teams headed to the final quarter of play in a 51-51 deadlock.

Outside of Noble’s historic performance, three other Lady Tops were in double figures. Sophomore guard Tashia Brown had 14 points, and sophomore forward Ivy Brown and freshman forward Taylor Brown each had 11. But WKU struggled to string together enough shots when it mattered. 

“I think we consistently stood around a lot,” Clark-Heard said. “That’s why we changed up when we came out in the beginning of the second half. We went on a run when we changed up what we were doing and I think there was times when we reverted back to what we were doing in the first and second quarters.”

All CUSA-first team player Leah Scott had 15 points and nine rebounds for Marshall, but junior forward Talequia Hamilton was a game changer for the Herd. Hamilton finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three blocks after averaging just 8.9 points per contest in the regular season.

“She was everywhere,” Clark-Heard said of Hamilton. “She had a phenomenal game. She was the difference.”

Neither team made shots down the stretch as both WKU and Marshall shot 31 percent or worse in the fourth quarter. The difference was four Lady Topper turnovers to Marshall’s one in the final 10 minutes. Clark-Heard’s defense thrives on turnovers, and on Thursday evening Marshall coughed the ball up just seven total times.

“We just didn’t execute down in the end and I take my hat of to Marshall,” Clark-Heard said. “They played hard and executed down the end. They made the plays and we didn’t.”

There will be a postseason for WKU, but it’s uncertain as to which tournament the Lady Tops will be playing in. In all likelihood the Lady Tops will be hosting a first-round game in the Women’s NIT in Diddle Arena. 

“The only hopes we would get would be WNIT,” Clark-Heard said. “A loss is always tough, but I mean we’re 24-6 and this is supposed to be a rebuilding year for us. I’m just super proud of that group. Of course, we wanted to keep winning and have a chance to win a championship.”

The 35th best RPI in the country and zero considerably bad losses may keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive for WKU, but Clark-Heard wants her team to be in position to undisputedly capture a bid like it has the previous two seasons.

Advertisement

“In our program we wanna keep building and building,” Clark-Heard said. “And when you win and you win championships, you wanna continue to win championships. That’s why I’m disappointed, that’s why the team’s disappointed, but we’ll bounce back.”

No matter what postseason WKU is invited to play in in the coming weeks, Clark-Heard considers this season a success.

“I think the most important thing we talked about was that we’re really proud of them,” Clark-Heard said. “We’re 24-6. This outcome wasn’t what we wanted it to be and we’re gonna move forward and try learn and grow from this.”