Marshall crushes Germantown, Pa.

Getting off to a good start is essential for any team to be successful. Marshall exemplified that Sunday morning in the MLK Dream Classic at Young, cruising to a 62-5 win over Germantown, Pa.

Germantown scored the first basket of the game at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter, but was unable to get anything going for the rest of the game. Marshall went on a 32-0 run to end the first half and extended that lead to 40-2 before the Bears hit a free throw with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Ebony Geddia, who hit the free throw in the third quarter, knocked in Germantown’s first field goal since the first quarter with 1:50 left in the final frame.

With a bench of just two players, many of Marshall’s starters played through the entire game. Junior Tyisha Saunders had 24 points and Yowana Posey added 16 to lead the Commandos (10-9). Geddia led Germantown with three points.

While the Bears (5-4) had trouble making shots, Marshall was causing havoc on its opponents with a 2-1-2 press. The pressure forced 41 Gemantown turnovers, including 28 in the first half. The Commandos turned thier defense into offense with 49 points scored off of turnovers.

Germantown, which in 1999 became the first school from out of state to play in this three-day event, was hindered by the fact it was missing four key players. Two starters were sidelined with torn ACL’s, one had a broken hand and another player was in the hospital battling Chron’s Disease.