Murray State
UT Martin
Free-throw woes hamper MSU in 75-70 loss to Tennessee-Martin
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers lead the Ohio Valley Conference in free-throw shooting in conference games, but the charity stripe wasn't as charitable for MSU in the Lady Racers' 75-70 loss to Tennessee-Martin tonight.
Murray State (9-15, 5-8 OVC) went 1-for-5 from the line in the first half and improved to 7-for-12 in the latter period for an 8-for-17 night from the line. The Skyhawks (8-16, 7-6 OVC) went 17-for-25 from the line.
The Lady Racers led 16-13 in the first half before Tennessee-Martin went on a 10-0 run to take a 23-16 lead. Murray State fought back, pulling to within 27-25 when freshman guard Shaleea Petty hit a lay-up with 7:21 left in the half, but the Skyhawks went on another run, a 12-2 string, to take a 39-27 lead with 5:04 left and a 42-31 lead at the half.
MSU fought back in the second half, getting to within four points three times midway through the period and within three points twice. Senior guard Rebecca Remington hit a three-pointer to narrow the deficit to 60-57 with 4:55 remaining, and junior forward Jessie Hirsch put in a lay-up to close MSU to within 73-70 with nine seconds left, but the Lady Racers could get no closer.
Prior to the game, the final regular-season home game for the Lady Racers, Murray State honored its three senior players, Remington, Kaleena Miller and Ashley Smith, and senior manager Jeffrey Johnson.
"It was very disappointing," said MSU head coach Joi Felton, "especially for our three seniors. I thought we could come out and sustain the effort for 40 minutes. We had a good stretch weher we played some defense, but then we backed off for whatever reason. It's something we will work on and improve on."
Murray State was led by 11 points from Remington and sophomore guard Gerraca Matthews, while freshman center Katie Willinger added 10. Remington and Hirsch each grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while Petty handed out a team-high six assists. Matthews also swiped a game-high five steals.
Tennessee-Martin was paced by 19 points and eight rebounds from Andreika Jackson. Danielle Page added 16 points and eight rebounds to go with a game-high seven assists, while Deina Willingham had 11 points and eight rebounds. Nicole Rivers added 10 points for the Skyhawks.
Murray State travels to Tennessee State on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. game.
