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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Marshall, Old Dominion, Arkansas State, and App State all earned victories on Wednesday at the Pensacola Bay Center to punch their tickets to the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship. 
 
The quarterfinals of the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship are slated for Friday with four games beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center. All four games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Game 3: (8) Marshall 60, (9) Coastal Carolina 53 [Box Score]
 
Marshall used a strong defensive effort and a huge performance from Abby Beeman to advance to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Quarterfinals with a 60-53 win over Coastal Carolina. With the win, Marshall advances to take on top-seed James Madison in Friday's quarterfinal at 11:30 a.m. CT.
 
Marshall’s defense limited Coastal Carolina to just 25.9 percent shooting in the contest while forcing 20 turnovers. The Chants’ Aja Blount – an All-SBC First Team selection – hit just 4 of 20 shots on the afternoon while Deaja Richardson – an All-SBC Third Team selection – was limited to a 4-of-17 performance from the floor.
 
The game hung in the balance until the final minute when Marshall found a way to make swing plays that led to the victory. In a one possession game with one minute on the clock, Aarionna Redman grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw in traffic that later led to a Sydni Scott three-pointer off a feed from Abby Beeman, which doubled the Herd’s lead to 57-51. 
 
Beeman was the catalyst on both ends for the Thundering Herd in the win, finishing with 19 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and five steals. Roshala Scott finished with 16 points for Marshall while Sydni Scott knocked down four three-pointers en route to 14 points for the Herd. Scott’s four triples were part of a 9-of-19 shooting performance from three-point range for Marshall.
 
Game 4: (5) Old Dominion 66, (12) Georgia State 56 [Box Score]
 
Old Dominion shook off a rocky start and held off a Georgia State rally to win its Sun Belt Conference Tournament opener on Wednesday afternoon. The fifth-seeded Monarchs, who had a first-round bye, are off on Thursday before taking on fourth-seeded Troy on Friday at 2 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals. Troy (17-12), the only Sun Belt team the Monarchs did not play this season, finished in a three-way tie for fourth place. 
 
Led by a season-high 16 points from graduate transfer Jatyjia Jones, the Monarchs slipped past the Panthers, 66-56. The win marked the third in three tries for Old Dominion this season over Georgia State. 
 
Jordan McLaughlin scored 13 points while Makayla Dickens registered all 11 of her tallies in the final two-minute stretch of the third quarter. Amari Young finished the day with a double-double, her ninth of the season, registering 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. 
 
After holding a narrow lead for most of the first half, Old Dominion finally found its stride to start the second. Jones registered back-to-back buckets with a three-point make and fast break layup, Young drove to the basket, and McLaughlin drilled one from behind the arc to give the Monarchs a 35-25 lead. 

The Panthers cut the lead to seven with a minute left in the third quarter, but Dickens went on a tear with a flurry of buckets to propel Old Dominion to a 48-34 advantage. Jones extended the lead to 16 with 8:30 on the clock, but Georgia State continued to apply pressure and pushed the Panthers within two, 55-53, with 3:03 to play. 
 
The Monarchs were able to stall the Panthers down the stretch to ultimately pull away with the 66-56 victory. 

Game 5: (11) Arkansas State 81, (6) Georgia Southern 76 [Box Score]
 
Izzy Higginbottom scored a career-high 28 points as Arkansas State kept its season alive in an 81-76 overtime victory over Georgia Southern in the Second Round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. 
 
The Red Wolves return to the floor Friday in the Sun Belt Quarterfinals, taking on third-seeded Southern Miss (20-9). Tip off versus the Lady Eagles is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+. 
 
Entering the second half with just five points, the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year flipped a switch and poured in 23 points in the second half and in OT, helping A-State (13-18) to its first trip to the tourney quarterfinals since 2017. Higginbottom scored or assisted on 23 of the Red Wolves' final 31 points, finishing 7-for-17 (3-7 from three-point range) and going a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
 
With the win over the Eagles (20-8), the Red Wolves have also claimed two wins in the conference tournament for the first time since 2015.
 
Lauryn Pendleton joined Higginbottom in double figures, scoring 15 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Leilani Augmon scored nine off the bench, while Mailyn Wilkerson added nine and went 2-for-4 from deep. 
 
A-State shot 41.5 percent (27-65) from the floor and connected on 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from the perimeter, while going 17-for-21 (81.0 percent) at the charity stripe. Defensively, the Red Wolves gained 23 takeaways that resulted in 31 points, while limiting the Eagles to 37.7-percent shooting (29-77). Georgia Southern struggled at the foul line, shooting just 45.8 percent (11-24).
 
Georgia Southern had three double-figure scorers, including two with double-doubles, led by Taya Gibson's 26 points and 14 rebounds. Terren Ward battled early foul trouble, finishing with 17 points and 10 boards, while Simone James scored 14 points to accompany eight rebounds.
 
Arkansas State scored six unanswered to open the extra frame, leading 78-72 and forcing a Georgia Southern timeout. The Eagles cut it to three on a layup by Shy Booker with under 90 seconds remaining, but A-State was able to maintain the lead, fittingly sealing it with a pair of Higginbottom free throws at the 24-second mark.
 
Game 6: (10) App State 51, (7) Louisiana 38 [Box Score]
 
A trio of Mountaineers finished with double figures as App State upset Louisiana, 51-38, in the Second Round of the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday evening. 
 
The Mountaineers will now prepare for a quarterfinal matchup with second-seeded Texas State. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday. 
 
The duo of Janay Sanders and Emily Carver led the way for App State, finishing with 12 points apiece. Sanders was 3-of-7 from the floor and went 6-of-6 at the line for the Mountaineers down the stretch. She also grabbed six rebounds and contributed three steels. Carver’s 12 points came on 4-of-9 shooting, including a 2-of-5 effort from behind the arc. 
 
It was Chaé Harris who paced the Mountaineers from three, cashing in with a perfect 3-of-3 effort to contribute to her 11-point performance. She also hauled in four rebounds and added two steals to her night.  
 
As a team, the Mountaineers held the Ragin’ Cajuns to just 23.7 percent shooting from the field and a 7.7 percent clip from three. The 38-point total by Louisiana is the lowest App State kept a Division I opponent this season. 
 

2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship
 
Tuesday, February 28
Game 1 – (12) Georgia State 59, (13) South Alabama 44
Game 2 – (11) Arkansas State 76, (14) ULM 65
 
Wednesday, March 1
Game 3 – (8) Marshall 60, (9) Coastal Carolina 53 
Game 4 – (5) Old Dominion 66, (12) Georgia State 56
Game 5 – (11) Arkansas State 81, (6) Georgia Southern 76
Game 6 – (10) App State 51, (7) Louisiana 38
 
Friday, March 3
Game 7 – (1) James Madison vs. (8) Marshall – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 8 – (4) Troy vs. (5) Old Dominion – 2:00 p.m. CT
Game 9 – (3) Southern Miss vs. (11) Arkansas State – 5:00 p.m. CT
Game 10 – (2) Texas State vs. (10) App State – 7:30 p.m. CT
 
Sunday, March 5
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 2:00 p.m. CT
 
Monday, March 6
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 1:00 p.m. CT