Basketball Recap: Marshall Beats Kelliher/Northome for Their Fifth Straight Victory

Marshall extended their winning streak to five games thanks to a huge performance from Chloe Johnson. The Marshall Hilltoppers walked away with an 81-74 victory over the Kelliher/Northome Mustangs on Saturday thanks in part to Johnson, who went 8 of 18 on her way to 34 points and five steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Marshall's points.

The team also got some help courtesy of Candice Ndomb, who posted eight points in addition to 11 rebounds and five assists. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in boards.

Kelliher/Northome's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kate Thayer, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 14 rebounds. Thayer has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 42 times she's played. Kylee Binkley was another key player, going 9 for 13 en route to 24 points along with eight boards and five steals.

Marshall pushed their record up to 13-6 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 84.0 points per game. As for Kelliher/Northome, they moved to 10-3 with that defeat, which also ended their eight-game winning streak.

Marshall will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Rice Lake at 4:30 p.m. on February 4th. Kelliher/Northome has already played their next game, a 99-28 victory against Warroad on the 30th.