HUNTINGTON, W.VA.-After a two game road trip to Eastern and Western Michigan, the Marshall Thundering Herd women’s basketball team returns home to the friendly confines of the Henderson Center to take on MAC West Division Co-Leader Ball State. The Herd enters Saturday afternoon’s contest with a 7-14 overall record, 3-7 in the MAC, while the Cardinals come to Huntington with a 15-6 record, 9-2 in Mid-American Conference play.

The Herd split their two games in Michigan, beating Eastern Michigan, 64-56, and dropping a competitive 80-71 decision in Kalamazoo to Western Michigan. Marshall’s shooting percentage improved over the weekend, as the team shot nearly 48% from the floor in two games, up from a 38% season percentage heading into the two game stretch. Turnovers still haunted Marshall in the Western Michigan, as the Broncos forced the Herd into 27 turnovers, the deciding statistic in the game. Against the Eagles, MU committed only 14 turnovers in their first MAC road win of the season. Marshall is 2-0 in games with 15 or fewer turnovers.

Amy Smith had a career high 17 points in the win over Eastern Michigan, while Catie Knable added her fourth and fifth double-doubles of the year. Sikeetha Shepard-Hall leads the Herd in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game, and 19 points in her last seven games.

Ball State lost the overall MAC lead when Toledo knocked off the Cardinals, 78-73, on Tuesday night. Tamara Bowie, the conference’s leading scorer and shot blocker, is coming off a 32-point, 11-rebound effort against the Rockets, and leads the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game.

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in the Henderson Center.