Racers Claim 69-59 Victory at Memphis

Sunday, November 15

Memphis, Tenn.

2 p.m.

Murray State

Memphis

11/15/2009 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Murray State women's basketball team claimed its second win, in as many games, with a 69-59 victory at Memphis in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The win is just the third in the all-time series with the Tigers (0-2) and the second in Memphis, Tenn.

“It is an exciting win for our program,” said head coach Rob Cross. “Especially for such a young team to earn two victories at two tough road venues.”

The Racers (2-0) were led by senior Mallory Luckett, who tallied her first career double-double with career bests 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Lousiville, Ky., native also added eight assists and four steals, both career highs. Freshman Mariah Robinson was also in double-digits in the scoring column for MSU, with 11 points.

“Mallory plays hard at all times,” said Cross. “She does an outstanding job and that showed on the box score tonight.”

The Racers kept up the defensive intensity that they opened the season with at Alabama A&M. MSU held the Tigers scoreless on their first three possessions and tallied six points of their own before Memphis got on the board. Robinson opened the scoring for the Racers with a three-pointer from the right side 58 seconds into the game. The Tigers were finally able to get a on the board with 17:18 left in the first half after six shot attempts.

Memphis then turned up the intensity and went on a 5-0 run to cut the MSU lead to one point. Both teams struggled to score a field goal for a two-minute span (16:44-14:33), with the Racers the first to break the streak at 14:33. MSU then kept the Tigers from scoring a field goal until 12:49 with Memphis gaining only one point during the span at the free-throw line. The Racers extended their lead to eight (13-5), with a 7-0 run.

MSU kept the defensive pressure up throughout the half, not allowing the Tigers to get above nine points on the scoreboard until there was 8:03 left to play. The Racers had tallied 23 points by that point, for a 14-point advantage. The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes before the Tigers started a 4-0 run with three minutes left to cut the lead to less than 10 points, 32-24. Both teams scored just two points each in the final two minutes of the half and the Racers took a 34-26 lead into the locker room.

MSU had a strong performance in the opening 20-minutes of action, shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from beyond the arc. The Racers also held the Tigers to 36.4 percent shooting (12-of-33) and a 16.7 percent mark (1-of-6) from three-point range. MSU was out-rebounded by three, but earned a 14-12 advantage on the defensive side.

Similar to the start of the first half the Racers held the Tigers without a point until 17:26 remained in the game. MSU tallied four points during the span to increase its lead back to double digits. The Racers held at least a 10-point lead until 16:15 remained in the half after Memphis went on a 4-0 run. Memphis cut its deficit to nine points over the next three minutes, before MSU started a 7-0 run in a 1:30 span to increase its lead to 16 (50-34). The Tigers were not done fighting and cut the lead to six points (51-45), with an 11-1 run of their own in a five-minute span. Memphis picked up the defensive pressure during the span forcing four turnovers and not recording any of their own.

The teams then battled for the final seven minutes of the game, but the Tigers could not cut their deficit to less than six points and the Racers claimed the 69-59 victory.

MSU had a strong shooting day, hitting 45.7 percent (21-of-46) of their shots and a 53.3 percent (8-of-15) mark from beyond the arc. The Racers also had a second strong defensive performance, holding the Tigers to just 31.1 percent (23-of-74) shooting and an 8.3 percent (2-of-24) mark from three-point range.

“I'm excited with the way that we shot the three tonight,” Cross added. “We shot with confidence early and then later in the game we were able to stretch the clock out and work on some things.”

The Racers now head home to play the first games of the 2009-10 campaign in the Regional Special Events Center. MSU hosts Mid-Continent, Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. MSU will be looking to extend their 19-game winning streak. The streak ties an MSU record and is currently the fifth longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball. The Racers also host Evansville, Saturday, Nov. 21 at the RSEC, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.

“We are excited to get a home game,” Cross added. “We would like to see a lot of Racers fans out early to see the team. I think we play hard and that the fans will enjoy the product we have on the court. We will have ups and downs this season, but we think it will be exciting for the fans.”

Notes: The game was delayed for 10 minutes during the first half due to a power outage on the circuit that controlled the scoreboard…senior Mallory Luckett has now tallied 10 or more rebounds in two-straight games and three in her career, with her career-best 11 rebounds against the Tigers.

Quotes
Head Coach Rob Cross
“We need to work on discipline through the whole game. We had 27 turnovers and at least 10 of them were unforced and caused by mental errors. We expected this since we have such a young team with not a lot of experience. Now we can go back home and look at film to help show the athletes what they need to work on.”