Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Iowa State
Lady Racers fall at Iowa State, Remington named all-tournament
12/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers had their work cut out for them, playing in the championship game of the Cyclone Classic against tournament host Iowa State, a team that garnered votes in both national polls this week. MSU lost to the Cyclones 89-61.
Senior guard Rebecca Remington was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 20.5 points per game in the tournament, bringing her team-leading average to 18.1 points per game on the season.
Remington was joined on the all-tournament team by tournament MVP Anne O'Neil, Katie Robinette and Lyndsey Medders, all of Iowa State; Pam O'Connor of Eastern Illinois; and Jessica Miller of Mercer.
Against Iowa State, Murray State (4-6) battled early, taking a 7-6 lead after the first two minutes of play, but Iowa State (10-1) ran off the next seven points and didn't trail after that.
Remington led the Lady Racers with 21 points to go with a co-team-high five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Ashley Hayes added 11 points and popped in three three-point baskets, bringing her season average to 3.3 per game.
Junior forward Jessie Hirsch also pulled down five rebounds, while freshman guard Shaleea Petty tied the team season-high with eight assists. Freshman guard Alaina Lee scored nine points and also had three assists for MSU.
Iowa State was paced by 24 points from O'Neil to go with nine rebounds and a game-high three steals. Robinette added 21 points, while Medders had a double-double with 13 points and 13 assists. Brittany Wilkins had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Mary Fox added eight boards and four assists.
"Our execution was better offensively," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We played with confidence for the most part. We didn't hit a lot of shots (34.3 percent, 23-for-67), but we took some good shots that just didn't go in.
"We learned a lot of good lessons from this game. This is the best team we've played all year, and our kids competed the whole game; they gave it all they had.
"I told our players they had nothing to hang their heads about," Felton said. "We've played against some great programs like DePaul, Louisville, UNC Charlotte, and they are all great experience for us, and we have another opportunity to play a really good team in Western Kentucky on Monday.
"Our kids know that these games will help us. In their minds, they don't see how much we lose by; they see that we will be prepared for anything we see in the OVC."
In this week's Sagarin ratings, Murray State's strength of schedule ranks 76th out of the 328 Division I teams, the best of all 11 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. Iowa State ranks 14th in the team ratings this week, the highest ranking for any MSU opponent this season.
Murray State visits Western Kentucky on Monday at 7 p.m. before opening its Ohio Valley Conference schedule at home against Morehead State on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. Those games can be heard locally on WNBS (1340 AM, Murray) or through the Teamline link at www.GoRacers.com.
