Murray State
Jacksonville State
Lady Racers play complete game in 96-85 win at Jacksonville State
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers scored more points in any game in more than 11 years -- including a 55-point second half -- and turned a 15-point first-half deficit into an 11-point win in their 96-85 win at Jacksonville State tonight in Ohio Valley Conference action.
The 96 points was the most for any Lady Racer team in a single game since posting a 96-94 overtime win at Evansville on Nov. 23, 1993, and the most in a regulation game since taking a 108-102 loss at Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 13, 1993.
Murray State (6-9, 2-2 OVC) was fairly consistent from the floor, shooting 43.3 percent (13-for-30) in the first half and stepping it up to 48.6 percent (17-for-35) in the second half.
Jacksonville State (5-8, 2-2 OVC), on the other hand, hit 48.7 percent (19-for-39) in the first half, but was held to 29.5-percent shooting (13-for-44) in the latter period.
The Lady Racers trailed by as much as 42-27 when Ann-Marie Healy hit a lay-up for JSU with 4:30 left in the first half, but Murray State used a 10-2 run to narrow the gap to 44-37 with 2:46 remaining in the period.
Junior guard Jill Fulkerson -- getting the first start of her career -- began the run with a three-pointer, followed by a jumper by senior forward Ashley Smith. JSU's Katja Fuess hit a basket, but MSU answered when junior forward Jessie Hirsch hit a three then made back-to-back free throws to get MSU within seven. Jacksonville State led 49-41 at the half.
The Gamecocks scored the first five points of the second half, but Murray State took off on a 13-0 run on the strength of a lay-up by sophomore guard Gerraca Matthews, three free throws by freshman guard Shaleea Petty, a fast-break lay-up by Petty and back-to-back threes from Fulkerson and senior guard Rebecca Remington to tie the game at 54-54 with 16:13 left in regulation.
JSU's Freddricka Embry hit a basket to give the Gamecocks their last lead of the game, but sophomore guard Ashley Hayes tied the game with a lay-up, then gave the Lady Racers the lead for good with the first of her four second-half three-pointers.
Jacksonville State cut the MSU lead to one when Fuess hit a free throw, closing the gap to 83-82 with 4:16 remaining, but Murray State went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes on a trey from Hayes, back-to-back baskets by Petty, a free throw apiece from Fulkerson and Petty and back-to-back free throws from Hayes to seal the game.
"This was the most complete game since we played at Ball State earlier this season," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We worked really hard and kept our heads up. We worked together and played as a team.
"We were still out-rebounded, but we got 39 rebounds, which is a lot better than the 22 we got at Samford (Thursday night). This was a solid team effort on our part."
Murray State was led by Hayes' 21 points off the bench -- 18 of which came in the second half. Hayes was 6-for-12 from the field -- 5-for-9 from three-point range -- and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Hayes -- who ranked third in the nation in three-point baskets per game in last Tuesday's ranking -- saw her average go up to 3.13 treys per game.
Remington added 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 night from the line to go with a team-high six rebounds. Petty put in 15 points to go with five rebounds and three assists, while Hirsch chipped in 13 points and two steals.
Fulkerson handed out a game-high seven assists, while Matthews and Fulkerson each swiped two steals.
Murray State hit 12 of its 25 three-point attempts (48 percent), tied for fifth on MSU's single-game three-point baskets list. The Lady Racers were 24-for-29 from the line (82.8 percent), with Hayes, Remington and Hirsch each going 4-for-4.
Jacksonville State was paced by two double-double performances. Rebecca Haynes had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Embry had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Shanika Freeman led all scorers with 22 points, while Fuess added 14 and Heathar Shepard had 12. Freeman handed out a team-high four assists, while Shepard had a co-game-high two steals.
Jacksonville State made 23.1 percent (9-for-39) of its three-point shots and went 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the line.
Murray State closes out this three-game road swing on Tuesday, when the Lady Racers visit OVC rival Tennessee-Martin for a 5:30 p.m. game.
