Murray State
Morehead State
Women's Team Shoots Down Eagles 87-61
3/4/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
When Murray State women's basketball head coach Jody Adams drew up the game plan for tonight's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal, there is no doubt that everyone was on board -- or should we say on "boards." The Racers pulled down a season-high 52 rebounds, holding the Eagles to an opponent season-low 26 en route to the 87-61 win. The win also ties the Murray State record for single-season wins, with the Racers' 22th victory of the season.
Murray State -- the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament -- will take on No. 2 seed Samford (23-8) in the semifinal round of the tournament on Friday at 2 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. The championship game will be played on Saturday at 11 a.m. and will be televised by CSS and locally on WQWQ.
Murray State (22-7) worked both ends of the court in the first half, hitting on its first six shots, while Morehead State missed on its first 10, getting its first basket with 10:58 left in the half. The Racers vaulted out to a 25-3 lead on the strength of a 16-0 run before the Eagles (11-19) hit their first field goal with 10:58 left in the first half.
Murray State took a 46-26 halftime lead, shooting 20-for-36 (55.6 percent) from the floor, going 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) inside. Morehead State managed to go 8-for-25 (32 percent) from the field -- 3-for-15 (20 percent) inside -- but made five of its 10 three-point attempts (50 percent).
Alaina Lee had a game-high 16 points at halftime on 7-for-12 shooting, while Ashley Hayes had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting, going 5-for-5 inside, and had a game-high four rebounds. Amber Guffey had nine points and a game-high five assists at the half, while Shaleea Petty also had five first-half assists. Morehead State was led by Brittany Bozeman's seven points at halftime. The Racers out-rebounded the Eagles 22-12 in the first half, and had only two first-half turnovers to Morehead's seven.
In the second half, the Eagles couldn't make any leeway, and an 8-0 Racer run pushed Murray State's lead beyond the 30-point mark, with the Racers taking their largest lead when Petty put in a layup to give Murray a 74-42 lead with 10:21 remaining, and the Racers moved on to the 87-61 win.
"We always want to set the tempo and have an attck mentality," said Adams. "We talk a lot about defense and rebounding. That's what it's going to take to win championships. In the month of February and going into the month of March, we have been at our best in rebounding and defending. We know, ultimately, that those are the things that we will have to do in the tournament to get to the next round and, hopefully, to win.
"I think we are playing our best basketball of the year right now. I'm able to use our depth; there is no question if we can substitute. Everybody can come in and make a difference at this time. This is where you want to be as a team and as a staff. You want to be playing your best basketball at this time."
Murray State was led by Lee's 24 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field, going 9-for-13 inside. Hayes put in 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go with a game-high 14 rebounds, for her ninth double-double of the season.
Petty finished with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field to go with a season-high-tying eight assists and eight rebounds, while Guffey had 14 points , going 5-for-5 from the line, and handed out five assists. Jessica Jackson grabbed five rebounds for the Racers, while Pam Bell had four boards and a game-high three blocked shots.
Morehead State was led by Brittany Pittman's 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field. Tarah Combs added 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, while Brandi Rayburn had 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three-point range to go with four assists. Anitha Smith-Williams had a game-high nine assists and a team-high six rebounds for the Eagles.
Inside play was a big key to the win, as Murray State made 31 of 52 shots from inside the arc (59.6 percent), while Morehead State made only nine of its 33 inside attempts (27.3 percent).
No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri (23-7) and No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois (18-12) will meet in the other semifinal on Friday at noon.
