CHARLESTON — Forget the rivalry, forget the big sister-little sister talk about the state’s two NCAA Division I schools and forget that West Virginia is a member of the Big East.

None of that factors as motivation for a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday contest between the Marshall women’s basketball team and West Virginia in the first game of the Capital Classic at the sold-out Charleston Civic Center.

The Thundering Herd is simply focused on maintaining the momentum built in the last week for Conference USA play, which resumes this weekend.

“It’s important for us to go out and play well (tonight) because we have a huge game this weekend against East Carolina,” Marshall women’s basketball coach Royce Chadwick said. “They thumped us down there and our goal after that game was to see how much better we could be when we played them two weeks later in our place.”

Marshall is coming off of a big road sweep of SMU, the reigning C-USA champion, and Tulsa. In each of the contests, the Herd was able to get it done with defense and rebounding.

It makes for a two-game winning streak and a lot of confidence heading into the annual battle in Charleston.

“We’re doing well in conference now and we need this one to keep our confidence up,” Marshall forward Chantelle Handy said. “This is another game that we need to get confidence in. We can’t lapse and say this one doesn’t matter because it isn’t a conference game. We have to play it like it is a conference game.”

Handy said the mindset might be much different if the Herd didn’t have the two solid games under its belt.

That is the problem facing West Virginia, who started the season 10-2, but has since lost three straight games in Big East play, including an 85-55 home loss to No. 1 Connecticut in its last outing.

Chadwick said the three-game skid is only going to make the Mountaineers hungry for a win.

“They lost some WNBA-caliber players from last year and they left some huge shoes to fill, but I do know (West Virginia coach) Mike Carey and I know how hard he works on his team offensively and defensively,” Chadwick said. “In a rivalry game, you can forget everything coming in. It’s going to be a tooth-and-nail battle for state pride.”

Handy is the only Marshall player with any in-state connection for the Herd. The junior from Durham, England, played high school basketball at Mount de Chantal, an academy in Wheeling which has since shut its doors. Handy and fellow junior forward Alyssa Hammond, a native of Oak Hill, Ohio, are not only the area connections for the contest, but also the most experienced when it comes to the game.

Chadwick said the veterans will be crucial in the matchup and Hammond is coming in off a pair of 18-point performances against SMU and Tulsa.

Both Handy and Hammond are looking for their first on-court victory against the Mountaineers. The last time Marshall beat the Mountaineers was on Jan. 11, 2005 — an 82-76 Herd victory.

“It’s been three years, so I need a win,” Handy said. “We all (Marshall fans) need a win.”

Wednesday's game
Marshall (9-6)
vs. West Virginia (10-5)
Tip-off: 5:30 p.m.
Site: Charleston Civic Center
Tickets: Sold out
TV: WPBY-33
Radio: WMUL 88.1-FM

 

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