Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Lady Racers Get By EIU 70-67
2/17/2007 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore guard Amber Guffey felt somewhat reponsible for the Lady Racers missing a win at Southeast Missouri State earlier this season, but she was vindicated on Saturday, as she hit free throws that tied the game, then gave MSU the lead for good in its 70-67 Ohio Valley Conference win at Eastern Illinois.
At SEMO on Jan. 27, Guffey made the first of two free throws with 5.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, but missed the second, sending that game to overtime. The Redhawks went on to win that game, 66-63, in double-overtime.
At Eastern Illinois, Murray State trailed 65-64 when she stepped to the line with 48.6 seconds left in regulation. She made the first shot, tying the game at 65-65, then put home the second to give the Lady Racers (18-7, 14-4 OVC) the lead for the rest of the game.
Guffey again went to the line with 30.2 seconds remaining and a 66-65 MSU lead and again hit both shots to push that lead to 68-65. EIU's Ashley Thomas hit a layup to close the gap to 68-67 with 5.8 seconds left, but junior guard Shaleea Petty was fouled a second later and made both of her shots for the final score.
Senior forward Joi Scott was held to two free throws in the first half due to early foul trouble, but came out on fire in the second half, going 7-for-9 from the field in the latter period and finishing with a team-high 17 points. She also grabbed a team-high five rebounds and swiped three steals.
Guffey had 16 points, going 6-for-6 from the line and 2-for-3 from three-point range. She also took a game-high four steals and handed out a team-high three assists for the Lady Racers. Junior guard Alaina Lee, senior post Erica Gordian and freshman center Pam Bell had four rebounds each.
Eastern Illinois (9-18, 6-12 OVC) was paced by Rachel Galligan, who had a game-high 19 points, going 6-for-11 from the field and 7-for-11 from the line to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Ellen Canale added 17 points, going 6-for-6 from the line, while Jessica Huffman added 12 points and Thomas put in 11.
Canale also had a game-high five assists, while Huffman had a team-high three steals.
Murray State plays its final regular-season home game on Thursday, taking on OVC rival Tennessee Tech. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center.
