Murray State
Austin Peay
Lady Racers use 14-0 run to outlast Lady Govs 81-70
2/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
When Austin Peay got out to a 10-point lead in the first half -- not once, but four times -- the Murray State Lady Racers keep their cool, using a 12-2 run to tie the game late in the first half and a 14-0 run midway through the second half to help decide the game, an 81-70 MSU win.
Senior guard Rebecca Remington became the 15th Lady Racer to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone at halftime of today's game. Senior forward Kaleena Miller -- who had never scored or rebounded in double-figures before today -- scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Trailing 29-19 with 6:11 left in the first half, Murray State (9-14, 5-7 OVC) used a Remington basket, a three-pointer by sophomore guard Ashley Hayes and a lay-up by sophomore guard Gerraca Matthews to pull to within three. After two free throws by APSU's Kera Bergeron, Remington hit a three and Hayes hit a jumper to knot the game at 31-31 with 1:43 left in the period.
A jumper by Remington with 1:18 left in the half not only brought Murray State to within a point, 34-33, but also tallied her 999th and 1,000 career points. MSU trailed 35-33 at halftime.
In the second half, Austin Peay held the lead for much of the first 10 minutes of the period, though the Lady Racers kept it close, taking two leads in the first six minutes.
With APSU leading 53-47 with 12:58 remaining in regulation, Murray State scored the next 14 points over a span of 3 minutes, 42 seconds, taking a 61-53 lead with 8:54 left.
A free throw by Matthews was an unlikely way to start such a run, but a trey and a jumper from Remington tied the game at 53-53 and a three from Hayes gave the Lady Racers the lead for good, 56-53 with 10:27 remaining. Two free throws from Remington and a three-pointer by Hayes capped the run with 9:16 left in the game.
The Lady Govs battled back to within two, using a 7-0 run to pull to within 64-62 with 6:20 left in regulation, but three free throws from freshman guard Alaina Lee, a lay-in by Miller and two free throws by Remington sent MSU back out to an insurmountable 71-62 lead with 3:44 remaining.
"I was very happy with the way we played tonight," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We asked our players to attack the paint, and they did that."
Remington also got a double-double for Murray State, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
Hayes put in 16 points and had eight rebounds to go with a co-game-high four assists.
The battle between the top two three-point shooters in the conference was a draw, as Hayes hit four three in 12 shots behind the arc and APSU's Kera Bergeron also launched four treys in 11 shots.
Freshman guard Shaleea Petty also handed out a co-game-high four assists, while Miller swiped a game-high four steals.
Austin Peay was paced by Bergeron's 20 points. Ashley Haynes had APSU's double-double with 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, while Carden Cobb scored 11 and Missy Booker put in 10. Haynes also had a co-game-high four assists for the Lady Govs.
Murray State out-rebounded APSU 51-41, 25-20 in the second half. The 51 rebounds is a season-high for the Lady Racers. Austin Peay had 14 turnovers to MSU's seven, with a 10-2 second-half tally. The Lady Racers went 16-for-21 from the line in the latter period, to APSU's 7-for-12 second-half effort.
Murray State closes out its five-game homestand on Tuesday against Tennessee-Martin at 5:15 p.m. As the final regular-season home game, the three seniors on the Lady Racer roster -- Miller, Remington and Ashley Smith -- will be honored prior to the tipoff.
