HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Frankfort graduate Abby Beeman is no stranger to marquee victories throughout her basketball career, but the Marshall star have just notched her best over the weekend.
Beeman, a two-time Area Player of the Year and a two-time All-State performer for Mike Miller at Frankfort, shined in leading Marshall to a 91-88 upset of Florida — the school’s first victory over a Power 5 school since 2007.
The graduate student posted 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds — her third double-double of the season. The Ridgeley, West Virginia, native knocked down five 3-pointers in the game, including two on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter to cut into the Florida lead and give the Herd momentum for the stretch run.
“To start the season I couldn’t shoot it. I could not get a shot to fall. So I came in today and was like, ‘I gotta be better for our team,'” Beeman said during the postgame presser Saturday.
“I felt good about it, and I knew we needed some shots. If I saw the rim, and if I had open space I was gonna let it fly. I’m just glad I got some to fall.”
Marshall ended the game on a 10-0 run to stun the Gators and give the Thundering Herd their first triumph over a Power 5 opponent since Dec. 28, 2007, when the team defeated Missouri.
“We had a lot of energy at the beginning,” Beeman said. “Sometimes we play down to our opponents, but we knew this was a good opponent coming in and we were going to have to play really hard.
“Everyone’s gotta be hitting shots and playing their best. It can’t just be one person. It’s gotta be a team effort. I think we really bought into that today.”
Beeman is averaging 17 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists a night to top Marshall (3-4). Last season, the 5-foot-4 guard posted per game marks of 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in her first campaign at the Division 1 level.
At Division 2 Shepherd, Beeman scored 1,258 points and 19.4 per game.
Including the 119 points she has so far this season and the 429 she scored in 2022-23, Beeman has 1,806 career points — on target to finish with more than 2,000 career collegiate points.
Beeman also reached the mark at Frankfort High School, ending her illustrious career in Short Gap with 2,228 points in 103 games — a 21.6 points per game average. She was the first Frankfort girls basketball player to surpass the 2,000-career-point threshold.
During her senior campaign at Frankfort, Beeman averaged 22 points, 7.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 steals a night as the leader of a Frankfort squad that went 21-5 and advanced to the West Virginia Class AA state semifinals.
Marshall, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference, returns to the hardwood at home on Monday, Dec. 11, against Salem at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcasted nationally on ESPN+.
All of Marshall’s home basketball game are aired on the platform.