Second Half Thundering Herd Surge Sinks Racers

Tuesday, December 29

Huntington, W.V.

6 p.m.

Murray State

Marshall

12/30/2009 2:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball

The Murray State women's basketball team tried to make it 2-0 against teams from Conference USA, but Marshall used a second-half surge to claim a 68-58 victory in Huntington, W. Va. at the Cam Henderson Center. The game marked the final non-conference game of the 2009-10 regular-season for the Racers (5-8, 0-2 Ohio Valley Conference) and the final game in 2009.

MSU was led by sophomore Kristen Kluempers who garnered a career-best 16 points while adding five rebounds. The Racers also saw double-digit scoring from sophomore Rachael Isom and senior Mallory Luckett, with each adding 10 points.

“What we saw tonight is what Kristen Kluempers is capable of,” said head coach Rob Cross. “If we see that Kluempers every game we have a great possibility to be a dangerous team in our league.”

The Racers opened the scoring on their first possession and used a 4-0 run in the first two minutes to take a lead. The Thundering Herd countered with a 4-0 run by Tynikki Crook to tie the score at four with three minutes having ticked off the clock. MSU took control of the game with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 10-point advantage (16-6).

After the teams traded baskets for the next four minutes, Marshall picked up its offense and defense, holding the Racers without a field goal until 5:27 remained in the half. The Herd tallied 10 points of their own during the span, while MSU got one free point at the charity stripe. The 10-1 run cut the deficit to one point (21-20).

The teams then traded baskets for the next two minutes until Marshall took their first lead of the game (25-24) on free throws with 3:13 remaining. The teams then renewed the battle for control of the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half. The Racers earned a 32-28 advantage heading into the locker room after a three-pointer from freshman Mariah Robinson with just under a minute left.

The Herd came out of the locker room with renewed energy and went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead before MSU got their first basket of the half with three minutes having elapsed off the clock. Luckett's triple tied the game at 35 and the team's traded the next two baskets before the Racers started a 5-0 run over the next minute to retake the lead on the scoreboard, 42-37.

“I told the team at half time that the game was going to be decided in the first four minutes of the second half,” said Cross. “I told them that they needed to be ready for Marshall to try and dominate us on the boards and that is what happened.”

The Herd then used a 10-0 run to toggle the lead back to their side of the scoreboard, with 12:39 remaining in the second stanza. Both teams then traded four or five-point runs over the next two minutes before they held each other scoreless for another two minutes. The Herd were the first to break the streak and it continued a scoring run to 5-1 before MSU got another basket with 6:55 left on the clock to give them a 57-50 advantage.

The Racers kept the deficit around five to seven points for the remainder of the game with increased defense, but they could not get any closer. Marshall used free throws in the final 30 seconds to increase the lead to the final score of 68-58.

The Racers will return to the friendly confines of the Regional Special Events Center for the first time in almost a month when they host UT Martin in the first game of the 2010 portion of the season. The game marks the restart of the Ohio Valley Conference season after the early games in December. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., with the men's game to follow.

“Our non-conference schedule has prepared us for the Ohio Valley Conference,” Cross said. “We are defiantly prepared for everything that will happen to us in conference. We are prepared to play on the road and for what will happen on the court.”

Quotes
Head Coach Rob Cross
“You just can't win on the road shooting 53 percent from the free-throw line. If we would have capitalized on our one-on-one's in the game it would have been a one possession ball game right down to the final minute instead of a seven-point game.”