Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Samford
Hayes Scores Career-High 27, But Racer Streak Ends At Samford
12/21/2007 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard/forward Ashley Hayes scored a career-high 27 points on the strength of a team season-high five three-pointers, but Murray State's six-game win streak came to an end at Samford on Thursday 62-60.
The game was close throughout, including 16 ties and 20 lead changes. Samford (7-4, 1-2 OVC) took its largest lead of the game, 16-12, with 12:38 left in the first half when the Racers (8-3, 3-1 OVC) went on a 7-0 run, as a three-pointer by junior guard Paige Guffey and layups by junior guard/forward Jessica Jackson and sophomore guard Mallory Luckett gave MSU a 19-16 lead. The first half ended with four lead changes and two ties over the last 4:50, with Samford's Chika Okoli hitting a free throw with five seconds left to put the game in a 26-26 tie at intermission.
In the second half, the Bulldogs took a 41-39 lead with 11:01 left when Murray State went on another 7-0 run, when a three from junior guard Amber Guffey and a layup and a jumper by Hayes gave the Racers their largest lead of the game at 46-41 with 9:47 remaining. A three by Monica Maxwell and a jumper by Alex Munday retied the game at 46-46. The teams exchanged baskets until Samford took the lead at 52-51 before MSU went on another run. Back-to-back three-pointers by Hayes gave MSU a 57-52 lead with 3:23 left. A three by Maxwell and a layup by Taryn Towns tied the game for the 15th time at 57-57 with 2:20 remaining.
Another Hayes trey gave Murray State a 60-57 lead with 1:08 remaining, but a three-point play by Munday tied the game for the 16th and last time at 60-60 with 52 seconds remaining. The Racers brought the ball down the court, but senior guard Shaleea Petty's shot rimmed out, and Maxwell grabbed the rebound. The Bulldogs worked the ball around to Munday, who put up a fadeaway jumper that hit the basket with 1.3 seconds left to give Samford the 62-60 win.
"It was a tough, back-and-forth game," said MSU head coach Jody Adams. "Samford got the ball to someone who we had been having problems guarding in the post, Alex Munday, and she got it in the basket at the end. We had a good look at the end, but it just didn't go in for us. It was a tough loss, but hopefully, the score will indicate something to our players. That was the score of our championship loss last season (to Southeast Missouri in the OVC Tournament). For us to hold a great team like this in the 60s speaks well of our defense, but we had our own problems on the offensive end tonight, and Samford did a great job on their defense as well. I just felt that we could have done a better job on our offensive possessions."
In the second half, Hayes got 23 of her 27 points after a lackluster first half. Hayes went 8-for-13 from the field, 5-for-7 from three-point range, and grabbed seven of her game-high nine rebounds. Munday shone in the second half as well for the Bulldogs, getting all 11 of her points in the latter period on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. She also dished out three key assists down the stretch in the second half.
Amber Guffey had 12 points for Murray State, and had game-highs with five assists and three steals. Petty dished out four assists, while senior center Angela Brown had a game-high two blocked shots.
Maxwell led Samford with 13 points -- all scored in the second half -- to go with five rebounds. Savannah Hill added 12 points to go with five rebounds and three assists, while Munday and London each had 11 points and three assists and Okoli had a team-high seven rebounds.
Despite halting a six-game win streak, the Racers are still hoping to extend another win streak, its 10-game home win streak that ranks 10th in Division I. Murray State hosts Alabama A&M (1-5) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Regional Special Events Center.
