Racers Can't Dig Themselves Out Of Early Hole at APSU

Saturday, January 21

Clarksville, Tenn.

4 p.m.

Murray State

12-7 (4-2OVC)

Austin Peay

10-10 (4-3OVC)

Murray State

Austin Peay

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

1/21/2017 6:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Murray State struggled offensively in the first half Saturday afternoon at Austin Peay as the Racers shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first two quarters and dug themselves into too big of a hole to overcome, losing 75-63 at the Dunn Center.

MSU (12-7, 4-2 OVC) went scoreless the final seven minutes of the first half as the Governors (10-10, 4-3 OVC) closed the half on a 16-0 run. The Racers shot 0-for-10 from the floor during that span and trailed 43-20 at the break.

In the second half, the Racers were able to find a spark in the third quarter, hounding the Governors defensively, and shooting nearly 65 percent from the floor. The Racers cut the deficit down to just nine points, 56-48 after three quarters. MSU outscored the Govs 28-13 in the period.

In the fourth, a Ke'Shunan James steal and score cut the APSU lead down to 56-50, but that was as close as the Racers would get the rest of the contest, as the Governors were able to respond and build their lead back up to double digits soon after with an 8-0 run.

James led the Racers with 20 points and six rebounds in the loss while LeAsia Wright added 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting and she also grabbed six boards. Abria Gulledge was the other Racer in double figures as she chipped in with 12 in the loss and hit four 3-pointers.

The Racers finished the game shooting 36.9 percent from the floor and went 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc. APSU shot 43.7 percent for the game and went 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from deep. Neither team went to the free-throw line much as MSU was 7-of-13 and the Governors went 6-of-7.

The Governors had a big advantage in rebounding as they outrebounded the Racers 49-31 and had a 16-5 edge on second-chance points. Austin Peay also had a 36-32 advantage in points in the paint and a 21-5 bench points edge. The Racers scored 22 points off 18 APSU turnovers and had a 18-8 advantage in fast break points.

MSU closes its current three-game road trip in its next action as the Racers travel to face Southeast Missouri Wednesday in a 6:30 p.m., tip.