Murray State
Austin Peay
Women's Basketball Leads Throughout In 81-59 Win
1/10/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team led from the start, opening with the first six points of the game en route to the 81-59 win over visiting Austin Peay in Ohio Valley Conference action. That win, coupled with OVC leader Eastern Illinois's loss to last-place UT Martin, brought the Racers to within a game of EIU.
Senior center Angela Brown opened the game with two free throws just 13 seconds into the game. Senior guard Shaleea Petty hit a layup and junior guard Amber Guffey put in a jumper to give Murray State (11-5, 5-3 OVC) an early 6-0 lead. APSU's Kellea Reeves made two free throws and Ashlee McGee put in a jumpshot to pull to within 6-4, but senior guard Alaina Lee made a basket, Guffey floated in a three-pointer and junior guard/forward Ashley Hayes made a layup to push the Racers out to a 13-4 lead with 15:49 left in the first half.
Austin Peay (4-11, 1-5 OVC) was able to pull it back to within two points three times in the period, the last coming when Amber Bacon scored a three-pointer to pull the Lady Govs to within 22-20 with 8:45 left in the period. Guffey hit a jumpshot and a three-pointer to push the MSU lead back out to 27-20, opening a 12-4 run by Murray State that gave the Racers a 34-24 lead with 3:39 left in the half. APSU pulled to within 36-30 before Murray State began yet another run, scoring the last six points of the half to go into the locker room with a 42-30 lead.
Guffey had 19 points in the first half on 7-for-10 shooting and pulled down four rebounds. Hayes had eight points and five rebounds, while Brown had eight points. APSU's Janay Armstrong led the Lady Govs at halftime with 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
Murray State began the second half in the same way it ended the first, scoring the first five points of the period on a Hayes jumper and a Guffey basket to complete an 11-0 run and take a 47-30 lead. A bucket by Armstrong and a three-pointer by Ashley Herring brought the Lady Govs to within 47-35, but Austin Peay would not be able to get any closer in MSU's 81-59 win.
"I was very pleased with the way we started off the first half and the second half," said MSU head coach Jody Adams. "It was indicative of our offense just ran. I told Shaleea and Alaina that they are our engines, and they need to continue to do that. We shared the ball and moved the ball well offensively. It was a great team effort. We had great open shots; we took what was there. Amber did a nice job of knocking down the outside shots.
"Our inside-out game was working very well, and that starts with Angela Brown. She did a nice job, knocking it down a couple, and the defenders start to sink in a little more, and that leaves our outside shooters open. She did a nice job, taking the time to set herself up and moving the ball. She did a nice job of getting deep in the paint. That's where she's comfortable, right around the rim. She's been putting in time in practice, and it's working out for her."
Murray State was led by Guffey, who finished with 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, including a 4-for-6 night from three-point range. She also grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists.
Hayes had 20 points, going 5-for-6 from the line, and pulled down seven rebounds. Brown had 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor to go with five rebounds and a co-game-high three blocked shots. Petty grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, the fifth time in her four-year career for her to record a team-high in rebounds. She also a team-high six assists and a game-high two steals. Lee handed out four assists for MSU, while sophomore guard Mallory Luckett also had two steals.
Austin Peay was paced by Armstrong's 18 points off the bench on 9-for-17 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Alex Bivens had 10 points, while Herring had a game-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots and McGee had a game-high eight assists.
Murray State will take more than a week off -- quite a change from back-to-back periods of four games over eight days -- and will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, at UT Martin.
AROUND THE OVC
As mentioned earlier, UT Martin -- which had lost its previous 10 games -- upset OVC leader Eastern Illinois 66-64 in Charleston, Ill., on the strength of a 31-for-32 night from the line. Samford beat second-place Tennessee State 77-57 in Birmingham, while Morehead State won 77-50 at home against Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech won 71-68 at Jacksonville State. Southeast Missouri was idle tonight.
Here is a look at the current OVC women's standings:
Eastern Illinois (6-2 OVC, 7-8 all)
Samford (4-2 OVC, 11-5 all)
Southeast Missouri (4-2 OVC, 9-6 all)
Tennessee State (4-2 OVC, 7-8 all)
MURRAY STATE (5-3 OVC, 11-5 all)
Eastern Kentucky (3-3 OVC, 8-5 all)
Jacksonville State (3-4 OVC, 6-10 all)
Morehead State (3-4 OVC, 5-10 all)
Tennessee Tech (2-4 OVC, 3-13 all)
Austin Peay (1-5 OVC, 4-11 all)
UT Martin (1-5 OVC, 4-12 all)
CLOSER TO A GRAND
Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey pulled ever closer to the 1,000-point milestone. Hayes now has 972 career points, while Guffey now stands at 967. They are each still on pace to score their 1,000th point at home on Jan. 24 against Tennessee Tech.
