Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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March 9, 2010

Marshall women bow out of tourney in OT

Wire reports Bluefield Daily Telegraph

TULSA, Okla. — Tynikki Crook’s latest postseason double-double wasn’t enough to carry the Marshall University women’s basketball team into the second round of the Conference USA tournament on Monday afternoon.

The eighth-seeded Central Florida Knights defeated No. 9 Marshall 59-57 in overtime behind a 19-point effort from guard Chelsie Wiley at the Reynolds Center.

Crook contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds, her seventh double-double in seven C-USA tournament games, for Marshall (14-15). Mystee Dale had a career-high 21 points, including a 10-of-13 performance from the free throw line.

Central Florida (10-15) now faces regular-season champion Tulane today at noon.

The bulk of Wiley’s scoring came in the final 7 1/2 minutes. Down six with 2:43 to play in regulation, she canned a pair of 3-pointers to send the game into overtime and hit 4-of-4 free throws late in the extra period to seal the outcome.

UCF turned 17 first-half Marshall turnovers into a 27-17 lead at halftime, but the Herd came charging back in the second half.

Down 10, the Thundering Herd scored six of the first seven points of the second half and eventually tied the game at 37-all with 8:31 left to play.

In the final 2:43 of regulation, Marshall missed five free throws and a field goal while Wiley’s 3-pointers produced a 47-47 score that extended the ballgame.

Marshall shot 44 percent compared to 32.3 percent for UCF, but turned the ball over 27 times while forcing UCF into 19 giveaways. The Knights outrebounded Marshall 44-40, including 21 offensive boards.

Wiley was the lone double-digit scorer for UCF. She hit 4-of-8 threes and five out of six free throws. It was the second time this season she helped the Knights win a close one at the Reynolds Center. The Knights beat Tulsa 50-49 on a Wiley buzzer-beater on Feb. 27.

Monday’s game between UCF and Marshall was the first-ever tournament-opening game to go into overtime.

The loss was Marshall’s fifth in a row. The Knights improved to 7-3 in their last 10 games.

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