Murray State
Southeast Missouri State
Matthews scores 19 on 6-for-6 shooting, but SEMO defense handles Lady Racers
2/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Freshman guard Gerraca Matthews blew away her previous season-high scoring mark by halftime, with 14 of her season-high 19 points coming in the first 20 minutes, but the Southeast Missouri defense was tough, beating Murray State 70-64 in the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo., tonight in Ohio Valley Conference action.
Matthews' previous season-high was eight points against regional rival Western Kentucky on Jan. 2, but she equaled that and surpassed that with 5:47 left in the first period when she hit both free-throw attempts to pull MSU with in 22-19.
The Lady Racers (9-12, 5-5 OVC) never led in the game, as the Otahkians (11-10, 6-4 OVC) jumped out to an 18-8 lead midway through the first half.
MSU was able to pull to within two points, using a 14-6 run over the next 4:41 which included seven points from Matthews, a three-pointer by junior guard Brittany Park and a trey from senior guard Stacy Holmes that narrowed SEMO's lead to 24-22 with 5:11 left in the first period.
Southeast Missouri scored the next seven points to push out to a 31-22 lead with 2:54 left in the half, and Murray State would get no closer than seven points for the remainder of the game.
SEMO took a 38-27 lead at halftime, punctuated by a "Hail Mary" from the backcourt by Kenja White that found the net as time expired to push the Otahkians out to a double-digit lead.
After Southeast Missouri scored the first two baskets of the second half, Murray State went on a 10-2 run to pull to within 44-37 when sophomore center Lori Trumblee put in a layup with 15:40 left in the game.
Back-to-back free throws by Holmes and a freebie by freshman guard Kelly Shelton brought the Lady Racers to within seven again, 47-40, with 13:31 left in regulation, but SEMO scored the next 10 points to keep Murray State at arm's length.
Matthews led Murray State with 19 points in 21 minutes of play, hitting all six of her shots from the field (with one three-pointer) and six of her eight free-throw attempts.
Senior guard Megan Fuqua added 13 points and a team-high two steals, while Holmes put in 12 points for theLady Racers.
Shelton and junior forward Kaleena Miller grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while Matthews had four.
Southeast Missouri was paced by Yashika Sidbury's 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 mark from the line. Sarah Costello added 15 points, while White had 12 points.
Carina Souza grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, while Sidbury had six. Jessica Aebi handed out a game-high four assists, while Costello had three assists and a game-high three steals.
Murray State's 14-point margin of loss to SEMO was equal to that of the previous seven OVC regular-season losses combined, dating to last season.
The Lady Racers' other four OVC losses this season had been by a combined nine points, including two three-point losses to Morehead State, a two-point overtime loss to Jacksonville State and a one-point loss at Eastern Kentucky. MSU has outscored its league opponents by an average of more than three points per game, 69.7-66.4.
Murray State continues this five-game road swing with the third game of the tour coming on Thursday, when the Lady Racers visit Tennessee Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and that game can be heard through the Teamline links at www.GoRacers.com or locally through WNBS (1340 AM).
