Luckett?s Triple-Double Lifts Racers Past Jacksonville State, 78-49

Thursday, January 14

RSEC

5:15 p.m.

Murray State

Jacksonville State

Luckett?s Triple-Double Lifts Racers Past Jacksonville State, 78-49

1/15/2010 2:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Murray State women's basketball senior Mallory Luckett accomplished a feat that only one other Racer player had done in school history when she recorded a triple-double in the Racers (7-10, 2-4 Ohio Valley Conference) 78-49 victory over Jacksonville State. The Louisville, Ky., native tallied 14 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds to join Karen Johnson as the only MSU women's players to garner a triple-double. Johnson earned the Racers' first during the 1987-88 campaign.

“I am really honored to earn the triple-double, but it is really a team effort,” said Luckett. “I wouldn't have gotten all those assists if my teammates didn't hit their shots. I think that this accomplishment reflects on our team more than me.”

“The effort by Mallory Luckett tonight was tremendous,” said head coach Rob Cross. “She is a triple-double waiting to happen any night, but it is obviously a special thing since it is the second one in the history of the program.”

MSU was paced by sophomore Rachael Isom, who garnered 22 points, while senior Kayla Vance recorded 17. The Racers also saw strong rebounding performances from freshman Mariah Robinson, with a career-best 11 boards and senior Jasmyne Thornton, with a career-high nine rebounds.

After trading triples on their opening possessions, the Gamecocks (4-12, 1-5 OVC) were the first to earn more points on the scoreboard to take a 5-3 lead. However, the Racers countered with an 11-2 run, over a 4:30 span, to take the lead for the remainder of the half. JSU went on a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to two (14-12), but that was as close as MSU allowed them to get the rest of the opening stanza.

The Racers built their lead out to as many as 10 in the opening half before the Gamecocks made one final run, starting with six minutes to go, to cut the lead to two again (29-27), with 3:10 on the clock. MSU then regained the momentum and went on a 9-4 run to end the first half with a 38-31 lead.

After the intermission the teams traded baskets for the opening six minutes before Vance started a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to push the lead into double-digits and the Racers held it there for the rest of the game. MSU eventually earned a 30-point advantage with 33 seconds left to play on its way to the victory.

The Racers used a strong shooting percentage and high rebounding to earn the win. MSU shot 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the field and improved that mark to 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from beyond the arc, while holding the Gamecocks to 30.6 percent (19-of-62) from the field and 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from three-point range. The Racers also earned a 51-39 advantage on the boards.

MSU will play one more game at home before returning to the road for three games. The Racers host Tennessee Tech, Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5:15 p.m. in the RSEC.

Notes: Sophomore Kayla Lowe saw her first action since Nov. 15 against Memphis (missed 14 games)…MSU tallied over 50 rebounds in a game for the first time since Nov. 28, 2009 against Morgan State…Vance tallied a career-high five triples.

Quotes
Head Coach Rob Cross
“I am excited to get a home and an OVC win. I think that it is crucial right now for us to defend our home court. With the exception of Eastern Illinois we have played the best teams in the league right now.”

“ Mariah Robinson is starting to get some of her explosiveness back, which we saw tonight for the first time in game action. To go out and get 11 rebounds is huge for her.”

“I am very proud of Jasmyne Thornton coming up with nine big rebounds.”

“ Rachael Isom and Kayla Vance played and shot the ball with confidence tonight. When they are doing that we are a hard team to handle.”