Murray State
Eastern Illinois University
Lady Racers fall at EIU in overtime, now prepare for OVC Tournament
2/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers lost a seesaw battle at Eastern Illinois 75-70 in overtime this afternoon in Ohio Valley Conference play, and now look ahead to its OVC Tournament first-round date at Eastern Kentucky.
At Eastern Illinois, the host Panthers (10-17, 3-13 OVC) led for almost the entire first half, scoring the first six points of the period but not getting more than a seven-point lead.
EIU led by seven, 29-22, with 5:29 left in the half when Murray State (9-18, 5-11 OVC) went on a run to take the lead. A free throw and a basket by freshman guard Francheska Foreman got things going, and a layup by senior guard Rebecca Remington and a bucket by freshman guard Shaleea Petty knotted the game at 29-29 with 2:16 left in the period. Another Petty basket gave MSU its first lead, 31-29, with 1:53 left in the half.
Eastern Illinois used a layup from Pam O'Connor and a free throw by Kiki Bytnar gave EIU a 32-31 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Lady Racers wrested the lead from the Panthers for almost the rest of the period when junior guard Jill Fulkerson hit a three-pointer with 16:10 remaining in regulation to give MSU a 42-41 lead. A bucket by Petty and another basket by Fulkerson pushed the Lady Racer lead out to 46-41.
With the game tied at 58-58, Remington hit back-to-back free throws with 4:50 left to give Murray State a two-point lead, and a basket by freshman center Katie Willinger expanded that lead to 62-58 with 3:18 left.
O'Connor made two free throws to cut the lead to two with 2:54 remaining, but two free shots by freshman guard Alaina Lee made it a four-point game again, 64-60, with 2:42 left. A layup by O'Connor cut the MSU lead to 64-62 with 2:30 remaining in regulation.
The score would remain at 64-62 for almost the rest of the game, until EIU's Megan Sparks was fouled going for a layup with no time remaining on the clock. She made both of her free throws to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Eastern Illinois outscored MSU 11-6, with a 6-for-8 performance from the line in overtime.
Murray State was led by Petty, who had 14 points to go with five rebounds, a team-high three assists and two steals. Remington added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Willinger had 12 points and a 6-for-6 night from the line. Sophomore guard Gerraca Matthews put in 10 points for the Lady Racers.
EIU was paced by O'Connors' 28 points. Sparks added 12 points, while Melanie Ploger had 11 and Janelle Cazy put in 10. Tangie Sellers had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Megan Casad had a game-high five assists. Sarah Riva had a game-high three steals to go with four assists and six rebounds.
Murray State now looks forward to its first-round game in the O'Reilly's OVC Championship Tournament. As the No. 8 seed, MSU will go to top seed Eastern Kentucky (20-7, 15-1 OVC) on Tuesday for a 4:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
