Murray State
Morehead State
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Scott makes a big introduction in debut game with 30 points
12/10/2005 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Scott sat out the first part of the season in compliance with NCAA rules after transferring from Northern Illinois last year, where she was the Mid-America Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2002-03 season.
Morehead State (5-2, 1-1 OVC) vaulted out to a 14-3 lead to open the game before Murray State (2-6, 1-1 OVC) went on a 7-0 run to narrow the gap to 14-10, capping the run with a three-pointer by junior post Erica Gordian with 15:50 left in the half.
The Lady Eagles got back out to an eight-point lead twice midway through the period and had a 26-19 lead with 8:37 left in the first half, but the Lady Racers made an 8-0 run, with Scott hitting three free throws, junior Ashley Brooke Hayes hitting a three-pointer and freshman Ashley Nichole Hayes popping in a jumper to give Murray State a 27-26 lead with 5:40 left in the half.
Morehead State pushed out to a four-point lead, but Murray State closed the half on a 10-6 run, punctuated by a last-second three-pointer by freshman guard Amber Guffey to give the Lady Racers a 39-37 lead at intermission.
Both teams were 14-for-30 (.467) from the field in the first half, with Morehead State hitting six threes to Murray State's five, but the Lady Racers had six free throws to the Lady Eagles' three.
In the second half, Murray State picked up its intensity, out-rebounding Morehead State 28-19 in the second frame and holding the Lady Eagles to four second-half offensive boards, grabbing 20 defensive rebounds of its own.
Morehead State led by as many as five points early in the second period and had a 58-55 advantage with 8:03 left in regulation, but Scott completed a three-point play to knot the game at 58-58 with 6:51 left in regulation. Scott then hit a jumper to give Murray State a 60-58 lead with 5:25 remaining, and Ashley Nichole Hayes and Gordian each put in a bucket to complete the 9-0 run and give the Lady Racers a 64-58 lead with 4:48 left in the game.
Morehead State was able to cut the lead to two, 64-62, with 3:14 remaining, but Murray State used a 6-2 run from that point to keep the Lady Eagles at arm's length for the rest of the game. Sophomore guard Alaina Lee hit five of her last six free-throw attempts down the stretch to solidify the Lady Racer win.
"Our game plan was to just be aggressive for 40 minutes," said Lady Racer head coach Joi Felton. "That was our big focus: to compete hard and fight for 40 minutes, and I think that we did that. We had a couple of times where we were down a bit, but for the most part, we did a good job defensively. We got off to a slow start early and left (Megan) Gearhart open for a few shots, but after that, we played more aggressively in the paint.
"Joi Scott had a great game tonight, and so did Ashley (Nichole) Hayes. We had a great effort from kids coming off the bench: Ashley Brooke Hayes hit some big shots for us, especially in the second half. I'm just so proud of this team and the ffort we gave tonight."
Scott's 30 points marked the first time for a Lady Racer to reach that plateau since Lori Trumblee put in 32 points against Butler on Nov. 30, 2002. Scott was 11-for-18 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line and had a co-game-high three blocked shots.
Ashley Nichole Hayes put in 19 points for the Lady Racers on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Gordian added eight points and six boards.
Morehead State was paced by 21 points and 12 rebounds from LaKrisha Brown. Patti White added 15 points, while Gearhart had 13 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Murray State will take the next week off for Finals Week, then will resume action on Dec. 18 at Jacksonville State.
