Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Samford
Women's Basketball Outruns Samford 74-64
2/23/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team played a series of runs against visiting Samford, and it was the 17-1 run in the second half that decided the game, as the Racers picked up their fourth straight win with a 74-64 win over the Bulldogs in Ohio Valley Conference action. The win clinched hosting the first round of the OVC Championship Tournament on Tuesday, March 4.
Samford led from the tip, pushing out to as much as a 12-point lead, 26-14, with 10:07 left in the first half. Murray State (19-7, 13-5 OVC) used an 18-6 run to erase that lead and bring the game to a 32-32 tie with 2:47 left in the period. After a jumpshot by Alaina Lee tied the game at 34-34, the Bulldogs (21-7, 14-4 OVC) scored the last seven points of the half to take a 41-34 lead at intermission.
Samford shot 53.1 percent (17-for-32) in the first half, holding the Racers to 41.7-percent shooting (15-for-36). Alex Munday led all scorers in the first half with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while Murray State was led by Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey with nine points apiece.
Early in the second half, the Bulldogs took a 46-36 lead with 18:12 left in regulation when the Racers took off. A jumpshot and a three-pointer by Lee brought MSU to within five points before Samford interrupted the run with a free throw by Emily London. From that point, the Racers scored the next 12 points to take a 53-47 lead with 11:38 remaining.
Samford was able to whittle that lead down to three points, 59-54, with 8:13 left in the game, but a 13-4 run over the next 6:22 gave MSU a solid 70-58 lead with 2:20 remaining.
"Rebounding was one of our keys for tonight, and it wasn't just defensively; we needed some offensive boards as well. We needed second and third shots," said MSU head coach Jody Adams. "We pounded the heck out of the glass. To see 'Tennessee' (Hayes) do what she did on the boards, and then, Angela Brown, and 'Lee-Lee' (Shaleea Petty) stepped in there and got some big boards for us -- boards were a difference-maker for us, no doubt.
"We said before the game that there were going to be runs. There were going to be peaks and valleys in this game, and the main thing is that we don't keep ourselves in the valleys, that we fight our way out. We talked about every inch mattering. (Assistant coach) Kerensa (Barr) did a great job for us in our pre-game highlight film and talking about fighting for every inch. We used them at halftime. I challenged them at halftime and said, 'Are you going to lay down and quit or keep fighting?' They could come out at the start of the half and keep running. Inch by inch, we just worked our way back into the game. We made some great defensive adjustments in the second half, and it made a difference."
Murray State was led by Hayes, who had game-highs with 23 points and 13 rebounds, notching her 18th career double-double -- her eighth of the season and her first since Dec. 22. Hayes was 11-for-20 from the field and grabbed 11 defensive rebounds and had two steals. Brown got her second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with a game-high two blocked shots.
Lee had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Amber Guffey had 13 points and a co-game-high six assists. Petty had seven rebounds for the Racers.
Samford was led by London, who had 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Munday added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Taryn Towns had a team-high seven rebounds, while Savannah Hill had six boards and Chika Okoli had five assists.
Murray State visits Tennessee Tech on Thursday at 8 p.m., then closes out the regular-season schedule on Saturday, March 1, against UT Martin.
