HUNTINGTON -- Don't expect Marshall University women's basketball coach Matt Daniel to sugarcoat a situation simply because he was the coach of the Sugar Bears at Central Arkansas prior to arriving in Huntington.

After a season-opening win over Radford that showed lots of promise, the Thundering Herd took a few steps back Monday in a loss at Indiana State (55-49).

Marshall (1-1) struggled in nearly all facets of the game in the loss and as the team's struggles mounted in the second half, the team-first attitude started to waver.

Daniel was not happy when talking to play-by-play announcers with WMUL 88.1-FM -- Marshall's student broadcast -- after the game.

"It's hard to win when you play like that and it's a miracle we were in the game at the end," Daniel said.

For the Herd, it's now back to square one as they look to regroup Saturday with former Mid-American Conference foe Ball State coming to Cam Henderson Center for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.

Different players have stepped up, and the last outing brought the emergence of Chuckwuka Ezeigbo who had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots against Indiana State. She also led a defensive effort that limited Indiana State to just 22 percent shooting in the second half.

While the defense was successful in limiting the Sycamores, possessions ran long because the Herd was unable to secure rebounds.

Indiana State had 22 offensive rebounds -- 16 in the second half. That enabled the Sycamores to double-up the Herd in shots attempted during the final 20 minutes. Indiana State had 36 attempts at the basket while Marshall got just 18.

Ball State (0-2) has lost to Butler (70-62) and Evansville (54-45).

The Cardinals are led by post player Nathalie Fontaine, who is averaging 13.5 points per game, and guard Brandy Woody, who is coming off a 17-point effort in the loss to Butler.

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