Murray State
Southeast Missouri State
Lady Racers stopped at SEMO 76-51, Williams completes first season at MSU
3/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers made believers out of a lot of people -- most importantly, of themselves -- in taking a ninth-place pre-season pick and finishing fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference and riding a four-game win streak into this year's OVC Championship Tournament. The ride came to an abrupt halt at Southeast Missouri tonight, as the Otakians used a staunch defense to end MSU's season, 76-51.
Murray State (13-15) took a brief lead when senior guard Megan Fuqua nailed a three-pointer to put the Lady Racers ahead 3-2, but SEMO (16-12) then scored the next 10 points to open a 16-2 run, taking an 18-5 lead with 11:05 left in the first half.
MSU pulled to within eight when senior guard Stacy Holmes hit two free throws to narrow the gap to 25-17 with 4:25 left in the period, but the Otahkians scored 12 of the last 15 points to claim a 37-20 halftime lead.
The Lady Racers would get no closer than 14 points in the second half, and fourth-seeded SEMO advanced to the semifinals against Austin Peay on Friday at noon.
Southeast Missouri was able to hold Murray State to 26.1-percent (6-for-23) shooting in the first half. The Otahkians ended the game completing 43.5 percent 927 of 62) of their shots, while MSU hit 34.6 percent (18 of 52).
Holmes had a game-high 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard/forward Gerraca Matthews, who scored 19 points in her last game in Cape Girardeau, put in eight points.
Junior forward Kaleena Miller grabbed six rebounds for Murray State. Senior guard Jenny Bowden handed out a team-high two assists in her final game for MSU, and she and junior guard Brittany Park swiped a team-high two steals each. Freshman forward Angela Mullins blocked a game-high two shots.
Southeast Missouri was paced by Kenja White and Chandra Brown, who scored 16 points each. Sarah Costello had 14 points for the Otahkians. Brown grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Costello handed out a game-high five assists. Brandi Russia had four assists and a game-high four steals, while Brown had three steals.
"I just very disappointed in how it ended," said MSU head coach Joi Williams. "Overall, we did a lot of things that have improved this program. Things are headed in the right direction."
Achievements this year included:
*A No. 5 seed in the OVC Championship, the highest seed since 1999-2000.
*Nine OVC wins, the most for any first-year Lady Racer coach and the most since 1999-2000.
*Nine home wins ties for third all-time at Murray State, the most home wins since 1988-89.
*Six OVC home wins equals the second-most ever.
*Thirteen wins is the most since 1999-2000 and the second-most since 1990.
