CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The MU women’s basketball team squandered an early 13-2 lead against Marshall on Friday and lost, 77-72, in the opening round of the Marriott Cavalier Classic.
The Tigers held the lead throughout the first half, but struggled in the second. MU held a five-point lead at the break but was outscored 41-31 in the second half and has now been outscored by 54 points in the second half over the last four games.
The Thundering Herd (8-4) built a 75-69 lead, but sophomore forward Amanda Hanneman hit a three with 1:03 remaining to put MU (6-6) within striking distance. The Tigers had a chance to tie in the waning seconds, but Hollins missed a three-pointer with 24 seconds to play.
It was a rare miss from Hollins who was on fire in the first half. She had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and made four threes in the frame. She also had three rebounds, three steals and made six of 11 threes in a losing effort.
The Tigers also wasted a career-best game from Hanneman. The sophomore forward scored a career-high 18 points and made seven on eight shots including all three of her three-point tries. She was the second leading scorer for the Tigers and helped balance the scoring load as freshman forward Shakara Jones and sophomore forward Jessra Johnson combined for just 15 points.
Defensively, MU couldn’t contain Casey Baker. The junior guard poured in 22 points to tie Hollins for the game high and had five steals.
MU has now lost three of its last four games and will play next in the consolation game of the Marriott Cavalier Classic against Delaware State (3-8) at 3:30 Saturday afternoon.