Murray State
Arkansas-Little Rock
Fulkerson hits game-winner to complete 13-point comeback
12/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Jill Fulkerson popped in a jumpshot with four seconds left in the game to complete an incredible 13-point comeback over the last 1:38, giving Murray State a 60-59 win at Arkansas-Little Rock tonight.
The Lady Racers (3-2) trailed 55-43 when UALR's Jocelyn Love hit back-to-back free throws with 1:38 left in the game, but MSU scored 17 of the last 21 points, with 12 of those points coming from sophomore guard Ashley Hayes, who finished with a career-high 29 points. She also tied the school record for three-pointers in a single game, putting in eight treys tonight.
Hayes scored on a three-point play to cut the Lady Trojans' lead to nine, then launched a three-pointer to get the score to 55-49 with 1:02 left.
UALR's Courtenay Brown hit a free throw with 54 seconds left, then Tamara Humphrey hit another with 42 ticks remaining to give the Lady Trojans (1-6) a 57-49 lead.
Hayes put in another three-point basket on the next possession, then senior guard Rebecca Remington hit a layup, was fouled, and got the free throw to cut the UALR lead to 57-55 with 22 seconds left.
Love hit her free throws with 18 seconds left, but Hayes hit another three to cut the lead to one with 11 seconds left. The Lady Racers fouled Alicia Cash, who missed both shots, and freshman guard Alaina Lee came down with the rebound with seven seconds remaining.
Lee got the ball to freshman guard Shaleea Petty, who passed it off to Fulkerson. Fulkerson stopped and popped in the winning bucket with four seconds remaining.
Murray State had as much as a three-point lead early in the second half, but Arkansas-Little Rock used a 7-0 run to push out to a five-point lead. The Lady Trojans out-scored the Lady Racers 25-11 over a 15-minute period in the second half, taking its largest lead at 55-43 with 1:38 left in regulation.
Hayes led all scorers with 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field, including an 8-for-14 night from behind the arc, tying the school record for three-pointers in a game, set last year by Megan Fuqua.
Remington scored 14, hitting all four of her free throws and grabbing four rebounds. Senior forward Kaleena Miller tied a season-high with nine rebounds.
Petty handed out eight assists, the most for a Lady Racer since Brittany Park had nine against Troy on Dec. 31, 2002, and swiped a team season-high five steals.
For Arkansas-Little Rock, Cash had 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Love had 15 points and six steals and Jessica Brown chipped in 10 points. Humphrey grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lady Trojans.
Murray State returns home to take on Conference USA opponent UNC Charlotte on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at MSU's Regional Special Events Center. That game can be heard locally on WNBS (1340 AM, Murray) or worldwide through the Teamline link at www.GoRacers.com.
