Murray State
Lipscomb
Lady Racers Round Up Lady Bisons 81-53
12/4/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers used a fast and furious first half to forge a 43-14 halftime lead and kept visiting Lipscomb at bay the rest of the way en route to an 81-53 win tonight at the Regional Special Events Center.
The Lady Racers (3-3) lived up to their nickname and more, with phrenetic play on both ends of the court and baseline-to-baseline charges that led to points or multiple-shot possessions. Murray State played a tenacious defense early, forcing turnovers, grabbing defensive rebounds and blocking shots, helping MSU upset the offense for Lipscomb (3-6) and push out to an early 13-2 lead and expanding that to 21-4 when senior Joi Scott hit a pair of free throws with 11:06 left in the half. A jumper by junior Alaina Lee gave MSU a 31-10 lead with 4:06 left in the half, and a three by sophomore Amber Guffey pushed that to 34-10 with 3:35 remaining.
When the dust had cleared at halftime, Murray State had a 43-14 lead, out-rebounding the Lady Bisons 28-14, with four turnovers to LU's 13, seven of which were Lady Racer steals. MSU shot 43.9 percent (18-for-41), holding Lipscomb to 14.3-percent (3-for-21) shooting. Sophomore Ashley Nichole Hayes led a fairly balanced Lady Racer attack with 10 points, while Scott had nine points and a co-game-high six rebounds. Lee also had six boards at the half to go with a co-game-high two steals. Lipscomb's 14 first-half points is one more than the arena opponent low of 13, set by Tennessee-Martin last season.
In the second half, Lipscomb turned its fortunes around, opening with an 11-4 run over the first 5:24 of the half to trim the MSU lead to 47-25. Murray State then went on a 6-0 run to push out to a 53-25 lead, and the Lady Racers didn't have less than a 22-point lead throughout the second half en route to the 81-53 final.
"I was proud of our overall effort and energy," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We had a lot of energy coming out. I'm also proud of our rebounding. Our guards did an outstanding job rebounding the ball tonight. We were able to put some things together tonight, and we were successful.
"This game gave us a boost of confidence as we prepare to open our OVC season. We had three tough road games, and this kind of game gives us some extra confidence going into these OVC games on the road. Right now, we are focusing only on the upcoming game. Conference play is just starting, and every team has a clean slate. We are excited to get started, but we need to continue to do a good job rebounding. You've got to do well on the defensive rebounds if you want to win a championship."
Against Lipscomb, Murray State was led by freshman Jenny Petrie, who had 17 points off the bench, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range. Petrie also grabbed five rebounds -- four off the offensive glass -- and had two steals.
Scott and Guffey had 13 points each, while Scott notched her 11th career double-double (her fourth of the season) with 13 rebounds. Hayes added 12 points for MSU, while Lee finished with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds, seven off the offensive end.
Junior Shaleea Petty handed out a game-high four assists, while Guffey had three. Petty and Lee swiped a co-game-high three steals apiece for the Lady Racers.
For Lipscomb, Catie Woods put in 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting, going 4-for-9 from three-point range. Julie Martin had a team-high seven rebounds, while Katie Rollins had six boards off the bench. Penny Jones had a co-game-high three steals for the Lady Bisons.
Murray State shot 42.3 percent (33-for-78) from the field, holding Lipscomb to 30.6-percent shooting (15-for-49). MSU out-rebounded the Lady Bisons 49 to 37, with 26 offensive boards. The Lady Racers committed nine turnovers to LU's 22, and had 13 steals to Lipscomb's four.
Murray State opens Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday at Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT.
