Murray State
Western Kentucky University
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Lady Racers hang with WKU, but second half decides the game
11/26/2005 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MSU (0-3) had a 6-3 lead when freshman forward Ashley Nichole Hayes popped in a jumper with 17:45 left in the half, but Western (3-0) -- ranked 31st in the ESPN/WBCA poll and 37th in the Associated Press poll -- went on a 10-2 run, taking a 13-8 lead when Krystal Gardner made two free throws with 15:05 left.
Murray State countered, using its high-octane offense and in-your-face defense to take an 8-2 run of its own to push ahead 16-15 when junior post Erica Gordian hit a free throw with 12:14 left in the period.
The Lady Toppers were able to get a three-point lead, but the Lady Racers came right back, as freshman guard Amber Guffey hit two free throws to give MSU a 23-22 lead with 7:45 remaining.
That's when Western Kentucky turned things up a notch, closing out the half on a 14-5 run to go into the locker room with a 36-28 lead at intermission. The intensified Lady Topper defense stymied Murray State, holding the Lady Racers to 21.4-percent shooting from the field (6-for-28) in the latter frame.
Sophomore guard Alaina Lee led MSU with 17 points to go with three assists and two steals. Gordian added eight points and eight rebounds along with two steals, while senior forward Jessie Hirsch grabbed eight rebounds and had a game-high three steals. Guffey handed out a team-high four assists for the Lady Racers.
Western Kentucky was paced by Tiffany Porter-Talbert's 19 points, six assists and three blocked shots to go with eight rebounds. Charlotte Marshall put in 16 points, while Ashley Butler had 12 points and two steals.
Crystal Kelly had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds to go with six assists and two steals.
"We got off to a good start, and got aggressive, like we talked about," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "In the second half, we came out, and we played like we were in shell-shock. We had a good halftime talk, and didn't come out and play aggressively. Western Kentucky, on the other hand, really played aggressively. They came out and did some good things on the boards and went inside.
"We knew that their game plan coming out in the second half was going to be to attack the boards a lot harder. We didn't do a good job. They took it to us, and we didn't step up to the challenge in the second half. It's really disappointing. Obviously, we were impressed with how well we played in the first half, but you have to play 40 minutes in a ballgame.
"Alaina plays fearless," she said. "I mean, she's a warrior. If we can get a few people to play along with her, there's no telling where we would be. Our freshmen are still learning the ropes about playing at this level. We've got a lot of work to do, and now, we have a long road trip ahead.
"One of our game goals was to get to the free-throw line 30 times, and we did that. We just did not attack aggressively in the second half. We were very tentative, and we just can't do that.
"Crystal Kelly is very talented," Felton said. "I feel that she is one of the top post players in the country. (WKU) is balanced. They've got kids on the perimeter who can shoot the three. We played a lot of zone (defense) tonight and make them shoot from out there."
Murray State closed out a season-opening three game homestand tonight. The Lady Racers now play three road games over a four-day period, beginning Wednesday at Northern Iowa.
