Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Lady Racers open homestand on a winning note over EIU
2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers scored the last seven points of the game, claiming the 76-70 win over visiting Eastern Illinois and starting their five-game homestand on the right foot. Head coach Joi Felton went to 3-0 against the Panthers, but it took a late rally for MSU to take the Ohio Valley Conference victory.
After Eastern Illinois took a 39-36 lead at halftime, the lead seesawed throughout the second half, with 13 lead changes and seven ties in the last 20 minutes.
Murray State (8-12, 4-5 OVC) led 67-64 on a tie-breaking three-pointer by junior forward Jessie Hirsch with 5:42 left in the game, but back-to-back lay-ups by EIU's Pam O'Connor gave the Panthers a 68-67 lead.
Sophomore guard Gerraca Matthew hit a fast-break lay-up to give MSU the lead back with 2:45 remaining, but a basket by EIU's Megan Casad gave Eastern Illinois (8-12, 1-8 OVC) its final lead of the game with 3:04 left.
Senior guard Rebecca Remington hit a lay-in to give the Lady Racers the lead back for good at 71-70 with 2:45 left, and a basket by sophomore guard Ashley Hayes and another fast-break basket by Matthews put MSU ahead 75-70 with 23 seconds remaining. A free throw by freshman guard Shaleea Petty with 17 seconds left closed out the scoring.
Remington got her second double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds.
Matthews added 13 points and a game-high seven steals, the third-most in Lady Racer history and the most for any Lady Racers since Heather Bates swiped seven against Belmont on Nov. 27, 1999.
Hirsch scored 11 off the bench, while freshman guard Alaina Lee added 10 points.
Remington and Petty each had a team-high three assists, while Petty grabbed five rebounds.
Eastern Illinois was paced by O'Connor's 20 points to go with five rebounds. Casad added 12 points and four assists, while Janelle Cazy had 10 points off the bench. Megan Sparks had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Sarah Riva handed out a game-high seven assists to go with six rebounds.
Murray State continues this five-game homestand on Saturday, when the Lady Racers meet Southeast Missouri State at 5:15 p.m.
