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PENSACOLA, FLA. – The semifinal matchups are set at the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Championship. 
 
Marshall, Old Dominion, James Madison and Louisiana all earned quarterfinal victories on Friday at the Pensacola Bay Center to advance in the tournament. 
 
The semifinal round will take place on Sunday, March 10 with two games beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
 
(1) Marshall 116, (9) App State 74 [Box Score]
 
Marshall's got its 2024 Sun Belt Conference Tournament off to a record-setting start.
 
The Thundering Herd broke several Sun Belt Conference records, including most points in a game (116), most points in a half (62), most field goals made (47) and tied for the most 3-point field goals made (13) in a 116-74 domination of App State on Friday afternoon at the Pensacola Bay Center.
 
With the win, Marshall moves to 24-6 overall and advances to Sunday's 12:30 p.m. ET semifinal against the Old Dominion-ULM winner. The win also ties Marshall for the program record for wins in a season with 24, matching that of the 1986-87 season.
 
Marshall finished with six players in double-figures, led by Breanna Campbell, who was 10 of 11 from the floor and finished with 21 points and six assists. Abby Beeman also had a big game with 19 points and nine assists while C.C. Mays had career-highs with 18 points and six steals. 
Meredith Maier also had 16 points while Sydni Scott added 13 and Aislynn Hayes had 10.
 
It was Marshall's fifth time this season eclipsing the 100-point mark and the 116 points was a season-high against a Division I opponent. It also set a Marshall tournament scoring record.
 
The Thundering Herd broke a 25-year record for points in a half in taking a 62-27 lead into the locker room, eclipsing the previous record of 58 by Louisiana Tech in a 1999 contest against Arkansas State.
 
While the offensive performance was impressive, so too was the defensive performance, which shut down App State leading scorer Faith Alston. Alston, who had 36 points in a win over Georgia State on Wednesday, had just four points on 2-of-8 shooting while getting the Mountaineers' leader in foul trouble early. 
 
Marshall led just 13-11 midway through the first quarter when Alston picked up her second foul. Over the next eight minutes of game action, the Herd took control on the defensive end, going on a 34-4 run that produced several turnovers and a 47-15 lead with 6:57 left before halftime.
 
(4) Old Dominion 67, (5) ULM 64 [Box Score]
 
Old Dominion took care of business in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by the narrowest of margins, defeating ULM, 67-64, Friday afternoon at the Bay Center.
 
Old Dominion led by 16 twice late in the third quarter, and then watched ULM then take a one-point lead twice in the final minutes before the Monarchs rallied and won the game at the foul line. The Monarchs were without En’Dya Buford, their leading scorer and a third-team All-Sun Belt honoree, who was sidelined with an injury. Three starters all picked up their game and produced more points than their average. Jordan McLaughlin led the Monarchs with 19 points while dishing out five assists and had two steals. She had just two turnovers in more than 38 minutes on the court. Brenda Fontana scored 15 points and yanked down 11 rebounds while Kaye Clark, finished with 12.
 
Old Dominion got a huge lift off the bench from Lanetta Williams (four points, seven rebounds) and Halima Salat  (nine points), whose back-to-back three pointers in the final minute of the first half gave the Monarchs a 38-28 lead. The Monarchs extended a lead they held most of the game to 16, 51-35, on a jump shot from Williams with 4:03 left in the third quarter. Fontana gave Old Dominion another 16-point lead, 53-37, when she banked in a layup with 2:53 left in the third period.
 
ULM’s Daisha Bradford got a steal and a layup to trim the ODU lead to 10 in the final seconds of the third quarter, catalyzing the Warhawks offense. After Clark made a short jump shot with 8:50 left in the game that gave ODU its last 10-point lead, the Monarchs went scoreless for nearly four minutes, and by the time Fontana broke the streak with two free throws with 5:28 left to play, ODU led by two.Bradford made two free throws with 1:21 left to give ULM a 61-60 lead, its first since the first quarter. McLaughlin then took over in the final minute. She gave Old Dominion the lead for good, 64-63, on a jump shot with 42 seconds left. She made one of two free throws with 22 seconds left to make it 65-63.Then, her two free throws with eight seconds left gave ODU a 67-64 lead, and the Monarchs held their breath as ULM's Brianna Harris had an open three-pointer that rimmed out with a second to go.
 
(3) James Madison 77, (6) Southern Miss 49 [Box Score]
 
Third-seeded James Madison produced a 17-point run early in the game, and guard Peyton McDaniel recorded a double-double to lead the Dukes to a 77-49 victory over sixth-seeded Southern Miss on Friday evening in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship at the at the Pensacola Bay Center.
 
McDaniel led the charge with game highs of 21 points (7/20 FG) and 11 rebounds to post her seventh double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. Forward Ashanti Barnes scored 15 points and nabbed nine boards, while guard Hevynne Bristow came off the bench for 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six rebounds.
 
James Madison shot 41 percent (27/66) for the game while holding Southern Miss to just 27 percent (17/64). The Dukes dominated the boards on both ends, finishing with a 58-33 rebounds advantage, including 21-12 on the offensive glass.
 
James Madison opened the game with a 17-point surge and led by as many as 34 points en route to the quarterfinal win. It was the Duke's largest win in the three-game series with Southern Miss by a wide margin and its biggest against a league opponent this season.
 
Southern Miss was paced by 18 points apiece from Domonique Davis and Nyla Jean, as both tied for game-high honors with four three pointers made.
 
(7) Louisiana 67, (2) Troy 65 [Box Score]
 
March is meant for upsets and Louisiana pulled off a major one on Friday night in the Pensacola Bay Center. The seventh-seeded Ragin' Cajuns trailed by as many as 12 points before coming back to upset the second-seeded Troy Trojans, 67-65, in the first upset of the tournament.

Tamiah Robinson and Jaylyn James each finished with 15 points, with Robinson hitting a pair of huge threes down the stretch. Tamera Johnson added 12 points in the win.

Louisiana held an early 10-9 edge in the first quarter before the Trojans went on a 15-2 run. Brandi Williams ended the run with a layup, but Louisiana trailed 24-14 through the opening 10 minutes.

Down 34-22 in the second quarter, the Louisiana offense came to life. Johnson knocked down a jumper before five points from James and a basket from Alicia Blanton cut the deficit to three. Troy responded with a three before Blanton closed the half with a jumper to make the score 37-33 at the halfway point.

Johnson tied the score for the first time since the opening quarter with a jumper to knot it at 43. With 1:47 to play in the third quarter, James completed a three-point play to put Louisiana ahead 48-47. A three by the Trojans put them back on top but that lead wouldn't last. Destiny Rice, Robinson, and Ashlyn Jones closed the quarter with a 6-0 run for Louisiana and a 54-50 lead heading into the final quarter.

Robinson opened the fourth with a three to push the lead to seven, the largest of the game for the Cajuns. In the span of 1:06, the Trojans answered with a 7-0 run and tied the score at 57. With the score tied at 61, Robinson connected twice from deep on the wing to ahead 67-63 with 2:05 to play. Troy responded with a basket but the Louisiana defense held them scoreless over the final 1:53 of action to hold on for the win.

2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship
 
Tuesday, March 5
Game 1 – (12) Georgia Southern 72, (13) Texas State 70
Game 2 – (11) Coastal Carolina 79, (14) South Alabama 60
 
Wednesday, March 6
Game 3 – (9) App State 73, (8) Georgia State 68
Game 4 – (5) ULM 78, (12) Georgia Southern 57
Game 5 – (6) Southern Miss 70, (11) Coastal Carolina 53
Game 6 – (7) Louisiana 54, (10) Arkansas State 41
 
Friday, March 8
Game 7 – (1) Marshall vs. (9) App State   
Game 8 – (4) Old Dominion 67, (5) ULM 64
Game 9 – (3) James Madison 77,  (6) Southern Miss 49
Game 10 – (7) Louisiana 67, (2) Troy 65
 
Sunday, March 10
Game 11 – (1) Marshall vs. (4) Old Dominion – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 12 – (3) James Madison vs. (7) Louisiana – 2:00 p.m. CT
 
Monday, March 11
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 1:00 p.m. CT