— by David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall players first brushed aside the tears. To be expected on Senior Night.
Then visiting Georgia Southern played a strong overtime to brush aside the Thundering Herd, 78-72, to secure the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week in Pensacola, Fla.
Timberlyn Yeast converted a three-point play with 17 seconds left in regulation to the game at 70. The Eagles’ Destiny Garrett missed a jump shot just before time expired, sending the game to the extra session.
Georgia Southern (23-6, 16-2 SBC) scored the first six points in overtime to take control, 76-70. Garrett made two free throws with 12 seconds left to secure the win and Sun Belt regular season title. It’s Georgia Southern’s first title in any league in 25 years.
The Herd did not make a field goal in the extra session and scored its only points on two free throws from Ni’Kiah Chesterfield.
Marshall (23-8, 13-5) now has to start a day earlier in the tournament as the No. 5 seed. Its first game will be Friday.
𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧.
The bracket is set for the 2026 @VisitPensacola Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship presented by @Join_AFReserve. ☀️ 🏀
📰 : https://t.co/RlrbTKG896 pic.twitter.com/I7DmrAb4YB
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) February 28, 2026
Marshall coach Juli Fulks said several bright moments, but falling on Senior Night was tough to take.
“A lot to be proud of,” Fulks said. “We started really strong. We missed a lot of free throws and layups. They shot incredibly well. We challenged some (threes), but not enough. The group in that locker room hurts. Hate to send out our seniors that way. A win would’ve been special.”
Georgia Southern finished with 10 threes compared to 3 on 17 attempts for the Herd.
Kishyah Anderson led the Eagles with 20 points. Kayla Cleavland added 19 with 15 coming on five threes. McKenna Eddings finished with 18 and Garrett 14 by making 10-of-12 foul shots.
Marshall got a stop on the first possession in OT, but didn’t covert. The Eagles then got four points from Garrett and two from Anderson to seize control and secure the season sweep of the Herd.
“We got a stop, then they put up eight and we got two,” Fulks said. “Looks like our legs gave out some. But they played Thursday. We got a couple of stops, but they got some huge offensive rebounds when we needed stops.”
Timaya Lewis-Eutsey led the Herd with 22 points. Yeast played big and scored 18, making 8-of-14 shots. No other Herd player reached double figures.
“I challenged Timberlynn this morning,” Fulks said. “She had a great game, one build off of to keep helping us.”
Blessing King led in rebounds with 11.
Marshall had two losses to the Eagles, one to Troy, one to James Madison and one to Old Dominion. That has Fulks encouraged going into the tournament.
“We can play with anybody,” Fulks said. “Now we need to string a few wins together. Four games are harder than three. Whoever we see will be a tough matchup. We were on the other end last year (started play in round one Tuesday and kept going and won four times before bowing to Troy). We got on a roll and kept it going.”
Marshall hit its final four shots in the first half to take a 38-33 lead. Lewis-Eutsey got the final one, a three-pointer just before the horn sounded.
The Eagles kept pace by hitting 7-of-13 three-point shots. Cleveland led the way with 4-of-4 to give her 12 points. The series between the two is now even at 12-12.
Lewis-Eutsey led the Herd with 11 points and Yeast had 10. The Herd’s halftime lead was its biggest of the half. Georgia Southern’s biggest lead was four at 10-6.
Georgia Southern set its single-season win record in the NCAA era (post 1985). The Eagles now have extra time off before a matchup in the Sun Belt semifinals next Sunday.
Fulks wished the night had turned out differently for the team’s six seniors.
“Such a great group,” Fulks said. “We end up with six seniors and they’re really special people. What I like is they’re not happy about this.”