HUNTINGTON, W. Va. ? The Marshall Thundering Herd topped the Ohio women?s basketball team for the third time in a row, dating back to last season, in the Cam Henderson Center Tuesday night, 88-87. The Bobcats fall to 3-2 in Mid-American Conference play, while The Herd improves to 2-2.

Marshall jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead at the 15:57 mark of the first half as the Bobcats committed three fouls in the opening minutes that led to six points. Kristian Kirkpatrick (Costa Mesa, Calif.) had the first six points for Ohio.

Lauren Revesz (Bridgeville, Pa.) followed with two layups while Simone Redd (Columbus, Ohio) add a quick jumper to even the game, 12-12 at 13:51. After exchanging buckets The Hurd?s Reshundra Smiley hit back-to-back threes to put Marshall up 27-21.

The Bobcats would answer as Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Erin Isbell (Gahanna, Ohio) and Angel Hornsburger (Columbus, Ohio) each added a basket to make it 27-25 at 7:59. Iglehart would tie the game up, 27-27 with 6:18 in the first half, off a pair of free throws.

Marshall?s Kim Griffin, who was fouled trying to drive to the basket, made one of two free throw attempts to give the Thundering Herd a short lived lead, as the Bobcats would pass Marshall, 28-29, seconds later with a short range jumper by Revesz at 4:36.

Ohio would push its lead out to five at 3:04, 35-30, as Iglehart made back-to-back layups and Redd hit a short jumper.

Modupe Ishola earned her first points of the game making one of two free throws, but Kirkpatick would be sent to the line on the following play, draining both free throws to make it a four point game, 37-33.

Griffin would hit a free throw and added a three pointer to close out the half, but the Bobcat?s Redd hit a short jumper and a long range trey at the buzzer to give Ohio a 42-38 lead heading into the locker room.

Marshall was the first to score out of the break as Smiley hit a long jumper and drew the foul for a three point play, to bring The Herd to within one, 42-41 at 19:04. The Bobcats answered with a 7-0 run, fueled with five points and an assist by Quintana Ward to push Ohio?s lead out to eight, 49-41 at 17:32.


Ohio and The Herd would exchange buckets over the next 10 minutes with the Bobcats maintaining the lead, 68-64 at 7:30. The two teams combined for 18 personal fouls, sending six Bobcats and five Marshall players to the line, who went 7-for-10 and 10-of-16, respectively.

The Thundering Herd would chip their way back into the game, eventually taking the lead, 78-77 at 3:46, getting buckets from KaShawna Curry, Teyonka Hodge, Ishola, Sikeetha Shepard-Hall and Griffin.

The remaining three and a half minutes saw five ties and seven lead changes with Hodge?s last second jumper the decision maker, as the Marshall Thundering Herd narrowly escaped the Bobcats, 88-87.

The last time the Bobcats dropped a decision by one-point point was Jan. 11, 1992 versus Eastern Michigan, 64-63.

Smiley led all scorers with 19 points. The Herd, who shot 48.4 percent from the floor, saw five squad members reach double-digit scoring.

The Bobcats for the first time this season shot over 50.0 percent from the field, going 33-for-64 from field goal range. Ohio held a 38-37 advantage in rebounds, with Hornsburger pulling down a career-high 10 boards.

Redd led the Ohio attack for the second game in a row with 16 points. Four other Bobcats scored in double-figures as Kirkpatrick added 14, Ward and Iglehart each tallied 12 and Isbell had 10 points. Horsburger also dished out a game-high five assists.

The Bobcats next travel to Eastern Michigan Saturday with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. Ohio returns to The Convo for a two game homestand as the Bobcats host Buffalo on Jan. 29 and Western Michigan on Feb. 2.