Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Racers Earn First OVC Win of Season, 55-47 Over UT Martin
1/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
After being away from the Regional Special Events Center for a month, the Murray State women's basketball team took full advantage of a partisan crowd to earn a 55-47 victory over UT Martin. The victory was the first win in the Ohio Valley Conference for the Racers (6-8, 1-2 OVC) on the season.
MSU was led by senior Kayla Vance, who tallied her sixth
game of the season with double-digit points.
The West Paducah, Ky., native garnered 11 points and a career-high two
steals. Rebounding was a key for the Racers
in the win, with freshman Jessica Holder leading the team with a career-best
eight boards.
The first half opened with a back-and-forth battle for control of the scoreboard, with neither team leading by more than four points. That is until the Racers started a 9-0 run to take control of the game for good with 11:06 left to play. MSU built its lead to 10 points and held the advantage between 8-and-11 points for most of the remaining first-half time. The Racers mounted a final run in the last four minutes of the half, holding the Skyhawks (2-10, 0-3 OVC) scoreless while going on a 7-0 run of their own to take a 35-20 lead into the locker room.
UTM came out strong in the second half, garnering a 5-0
run in the first 3:30 before the Racers could break their scoring drought. The Skyhawks were not allowed to get any
closer than eight points the rest of the game, as MSU rebuilt its lead back to as many as 17
points in the second half.
Rebounding was a key to the win for the Racers, as they outrebounded UTM, 43-34. The main difference came on the offensive side of the court, as MSU earned a 15-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Those extra chances led to the Racers tallying 13 second-chance points to the Skyhawks four. MSU also used 15 points off turnovers to help build their lead.
The Racers will return to the road for two conference
games this weekend when they travel to battle with Tennessee State and Austin
Peay. MSU will first stop in Nashville,
Tenn., to face the Lady Tigers, Thursday, Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. before heading to
Clarksville, Tenn., to battle with Austin Peay, Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.
Notes: Senior Jasmyne Thornton was the first starter to garner a basket for MSU with 10:21 remaining in the first half…the bench had already contributed 13 points, with two more coming at the free-throw line from starters Rachael Isom and Kayla Vance…freshman Alex Duck went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for her first career free throws…rookie Tessa Elkins recorded career highs in rebounds (6), field-goals made (3), and three-point field-goals made (3)…sophomore Mallory Schwab tallied a career-high two blocks…Thornton garnered her first block of the season and just the second of her career.
Quotes
Head
Coach Rob Cross
“We are happy to be back home and get our first
conference win of the year.”
“UT Martin came out and played exactly the way we expected them to. They played extremely hard and all the way to the final horn.”
“The good thing about this game is that we got to play a lot of people and also got to rest a few people. Everyone got to play meaningful minutes in a game situation.”
“I am proud of how we closed out the game. We got a lot of great mistakes on film that some players make every day in practice. So now we have it on film to show them what they need to work on.”
