ATHENS, Ohio ? The Marshall Thundering Herd kept its win streak alive, coming out of The Convo with a 72-63 victory over the Ohio women?s basketball team Wednesday evening. Marshall, who leads the Mid-American Conference East Division, got a career-high 30 points from Sikeetha Shepard-Hall to improve to 8-2 in MAC play while the Bobcats fall to 5-5.

?I was very pleased with our defense,? commented Ohio Head Coach Lynn Bria. ?I thought we had a great defensive game plan. You just can?t overextend yourself against that team.?

The Bobcats jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead but Reshundra Smiley hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 18:35. Ohio followed with a 7-2 run to take a six point lead, 11-5, at 13:22.

The two teams would exchange buckets with Ohio maintaining a six point advantage, 13-7 at 11:06, before the Thundering Herd rattled off 11 unanswered points over a four minute span to take a five point lead, 18-13, at 8:49. The Bobcats would cut the lead to two, 18-16, as Andrea Johnson (Columbus, Ohio) hit a trey at 7:09.

The Herd would close out the remainder of the half with a 16-2 run to hold their largest lead of the game, 32-20, heading into the break.

?I thought the end of the first half was the huge difference in the game,? continued Bria. ?That?s when we really got away from what we needed to do.?

Ohio started the second half with a 7-1 run, to cut the deficit to six points at 15:31, 33-27, but The Herd countered with a 7-2 spurt to push their lead back into double-digits, 40-29, at 13:05.

The Bobcats chipped their way back into the game, outscoring Marshall, 17-10, over the next eight minutes, to make it a four-point game, 50-46, at 5:50. Marshall gained a six-point advantage with a jumper by Kim Griffin, but Erin Isbell would drain two free throws after drawing KaShawna Curry?s fifth foul to cut the lead to four points, 54-50, at 4:15.

Ohio pulled to within two points, 54-52, on the next play, as Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) picked Crystal Champion?s pocket then dished the ball to a streaking Kristian Kirkpatrick, who made both free throws after drawing a foul by Griffin.

Marshall?s Shepard-Hall notched 13 of her game-high 30 points in the remaining three minutes, as the Thundering Herd outscored Ohio, 18-11, down the stretch for their ninth consecutive win, 72-63.

?I think our defense gave us an opportunity to win the game,? added Bria. ?I thought our offense was what really hurt us tonight.?

Marshall, who shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 60.6 percent from the line, got points from nine different players, led by Shepard-Hall and Modupe Ishola, who registered 13 points. Curry and Griffin pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Griffin and Hodge dished out a team-leading four assists. The Thundering Herd came up with 13 steals, while forcing 24 Bobcat turnovers and made three blocks.

Ohio, which shot 37.5 percent from the field and 84.0 percent from the free throw line, outrebounded the Herd, 35-34. After going five games without scoring in double-figures, Ward led the Bobcats with a career-high 16 points, while dishing out four assists. Classmate Simone Redd (Warrensville Hts., Ohio) netted 13 points for her twelfth double-figure scoring outing of the season, and Lauren Revesz (Bridgeville, Pa.) grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Next, the Bobcats travel to Toledo for a 7 p.m. tip-off Saturday with the Rockets and then return home for a two-game homestand starting Tuesday, when Ohio hosts Akron. Game time is set for 7 p.m.