Murray State
Morehead State
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Lady Racers lose heart-breaker at Morehead State 71-69
2/11/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
With 6.8 seconds remaining in regulation, and after both teams had taken timeouts, Lady Racer Shaleea Petty took the inbounds pass from the back baseline with Murray State trailing 71-69.
Petty roared up the court and found Ashley Nichole Hayes on the right flank behind the arc. Hayes put up a shot that hit the rim, but Ashley Brooke Hayes got the rebound under the hoop. She put up a layup in heavy traffic that rolled on the rim, teetered toward the net, then fell off the edge as time expired.
In a change of tradition in the Murray-Morehead women's series, free throws did not determine the winner. Murray State made its first 13 free throws, missing only its final attempt of the game.
Ashley Brooke Hayes tied the school record for career three-point field goals, 134, set by Misty Pierceall (1994-98).
The Lady Racers trailed 8-2 early in the game, but a layup by Gerraca Matthews and a trey from Ashley Brooke Hayes brought Murray State to within 8-7. Morehead State pushed back out to a five-point lead twice, but the Lady Racers brought it back, tied it, then took the lead 17-16 on two free throws by Petty.
Murray State then got out to a four-point lead, 27-23, before the Lady Eagles went on a 5-0 run to push ahead 28-27. A three-point play by Amber Guffey and two free throws by Jessie Hirsch pushed the Murray lead to 32-28. The Lady Racers led 34-31 at the half.
Murray State held the lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Morehead State (11-11, 6-9 OVC) retook the lead. The Lady Racers retook the lead, 56-54, on a three-pointer by Erica Gordian with 7:48 remaining in regulation, but a layup by LaKrisha Brown and a jumper by TaNeisha Johnson gave the Lady Eagles the lead that they would not cede.
With Morehead State leading 67-63 with 1:15 left, Gordian hit another three to pull Murray State (8-15, 7-9 OVC) to within one with 48 seconds remaining. Johnson hit two free throws for Morehead to push the Lady Eagles back out to a 69-66 lead with 30 seconds left, but Petty hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 69-69 with 16 seconds remaining.
Brown hit a jumper for the final score for the game with 6.8 seconds remaining.
"It was disappointing," said Murray State head coach Joi Felton. "We had some breakdowns here and there defensively, and we can't have that. Give Morehead a lot of credit. They were hungry, and they stayed with it. They landed some big, big shots tonight. We've just got to get back and get ready for Tennessee State."
Ashley Nichole Hayes led five Lady Racers in double-figures, with 12 of her 14 points coming in the second half. Gordian scored 13 to go with five rebounds and three assists, while Guffey put in 12 points and went 5-for-5 from the line. Petty added 11 points to go with five rebounds and a team-high seven assists, while Ashley Brooke Hayes had 11 points, three assists and a co-game-high two steals.
Matthews pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Hirsch had two steals for Murray State.
Morehead State was paced by Brown's 26 points and 10 rebounds. Megen Gearhart added 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high nine assists, while Patti White put in 13 points off the bench. Johnson put in 11 points to go with six rebounds.
Murray State committed only nine turnovers, while Morehead State had 11. The Lady Eagles out-rebounded the Lady Racers 36-28.
Murray State concludes this three-game road swing with a game at Tennessee State. Tipoff is set for Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
