Murray State
Jacksonville State
Lady Racers lose defensive battle to red-hot Jacksonville State 69-63
2/4/2006 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jacksonville State (9-13, 7-8 OVC) -- which won their sixth straight game -- led 15-2 with 14:05 remaining in the first half, but the Lady Racers went on a 23-10 tear over the next 9:06 to knot the game at 25-25 on a layup by freshman Ashley Nichole Hayes with 4:59 left in the period. JSU took a 30-28 lead into the locker room at halftime, but the Lady Racers took four shots in the last minute and couldn't get any to fall.
In the second half, JSU got out to a 36-29 lead early, but the Lady Racers went on a 12-1 run to take a 41-37 lead when junior Erica Gordian hit a three-pointer with 15:53 remaining in regulation.
Murray State (7-14, 6-8 OVC) took a 58-57 lead when junior Joi Scott hit a jumper with 4:31 left, but JSU's Rebecca Haynes hit a three to put the Gamecocks back on top. A jumpshot by junior Gerraca Matthews tied the game at 60-60 with 3:20 remaining.
Courtney Slaughter hit a jumper to give Jacksonville State a 62-60 lead, but Hayes hit one of two free-throw attempts to pull MSU to within 62-61 with 2:41 left.
A Slaughter three-point play pushed the JSU lead to 65-61 with 1:18 left, and a jumpshot by MSU freshman Paige Guffey pulled it back to 65-63 with 1:07 remaining. LaTonya McKinney hit a jumper with 37 seconds left to push Jacksonville State out to a 67-63 lead. MSU launched three three-point attempts in the next 20 seconds, but not would fall. JSU's Ann-Marie Healy hit two free throws at the end for the final score.
Murray State was led by Scott's double-double, 23 points and a team season-high 16 rebounds to go with two assists, two blocked shots and two steals.
Hayes grabbed nine rebounds for MSU to go with a co-game-high five assists and two steals, while sophomore Shaleea Petty had four assists.
Jacksonville State was led by McKinney, who scored 19 points and had five assists and four steals, both game-highs. Healy claimed a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.Slaughter added 17 points to go with five assists, while Rebecca Haynes put in 10 points and had eight rebounds.
Murray State takes to the road for a three-game road swing, beginning Thursday night at Eastern Kentucky. That game is set to tip off at 4:30 p.m. CT.
