Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee Tech
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Ashley N. Hayes gets double-double, but Lady Racers fall at Tech
2/24/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Freshman guard/forward Ashley Nichole Hayes got her first double-double since Dec. 8 -- her fourth of the season -- with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Joi Scott scored a co-team-high 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go with six rebounds. Junior guard/forward Gerraca Matthews put in 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 performance from the line to go with seven boards and a co-team-high four assists.
Sophomore guard Alaina Lee also had four assists, while sophomore guard Shaleea Petty had four steals.
Tennessee Tech (20-7, 16-4 OVC) was paced by Emily Christian's 29 points and 13 rebounds to go with three assists. Kendall Cavin added 21 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the line to go with eight rebounds.
Jana Reece had 12 points, also shooting 7-for-7 from the line, while Meagan Lyons had 12 points and a game-high five assists.
Murray State (10-16, 8-11 OVC) started out sluggishly, posting Tech to an 8-0 early lead, but quickly got back in the game. Trailing 32-22 with 4:54 left in the first half, the Lady Racers used an 11-0 run to push out to a 33-32 lead with 34 seconds left in the period.
A three-point play by Scott got things going for MSU, followed by a jumpshot by Hayes and back-to-back free throws by Matthews. Matthews put in a layup to bring the Lady Racers to within 32-31, and Hayes put MSU ahead with a layup with 34 seconds remaining in the half. Tech's Cara Reed hit a free throw to tie the score at 33-33 at intermission. Seven Murray State steals in the first half contributed to the Lady Racers' comeback.
In the second half, Murray State continued its quick play, using a 13-3 run to get out to a 50-43 lead with 13:05 left in regulation. MSU led 52-45 with 11:48 left when the Golden Eaglettes made its 7-0 run to knot the game at 52-52 when Christian hit a layup with 8:57 remaining.
Junior guard Ashley Brooke Hayes hit a three to put MSU ahead 55-52, but Tennessee Tech took control, scoring the next six points to push out to a 58-52 lead, which they wouldn't relinquish.
Murray State closes out its regular-season schedule at home on Saturday against Tennessee-Martin. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. The Lady Racers will also celebrate its annual Senior Day, honoring outgoing seniors Jill Fulkerson and Jessie Hirsch.
