Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Evansville
Racers Second-Half Come-Back Falls Short at Evansville
11/17/2010 8:58:51 PM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team almost doubled its production from the first to second half, but it was not enough to earn a victory over Evansville, as the Racers (2-1) fell to the Purple Aces (2-0), 54-60, at Roberts Stadium.
Junior Kayla Lowe led MSU, with her first career double-double. The Pikeville, Ky., native tallied 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Jessica Winfrey also had a strong outing for the Racers, with career highs of 12 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Mariah Robinson was the final MSU player to garner double-digits in the point's column, with 12.
The first half of play was low scoring for both teams, with long stretches without scoring by either side. Both teams scored in the first minute of the game and then held each other scoreless for the next three minutes. The Purple Aces were the first to break the drought, with a three with 15:47 remaining. The Racers were held without a field goal until 8:28 remained in the half, but stayed in the game by making six of their six free throw attempts, while Evansville tallied 11 points and led 13-8. After MSU broke its streak the team went on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to one point (13-12) over a minute span. The Purple Aces kept the pressure up and never allowed the Racers to get any closer and went into the locker room with a 27-19 advantage.
Evansville started the second stanza with the momentum from the first and built its lead to 13 in the first two minutes of play. The Purple Aces kept the lead in double-digits, or close to it, for most of the half, but MSU was not done fighting and with 16:30 left they held Evansville without a field goal for 6:30. The Racers scored 12 points during the span, but were unable to earn the advantage due to the Purple Aces making eight free throws. The battle continued and MSU cut the deficit to three, with 7:30 left, after a 6-0 run. The teams then traded small runs until the final few minutes of the game, when Evansville out-scored the Racers 5-2 to earn the 60-54 win.
Both teams struggled with shooting percentage in the game, with the Purple Aces earning a 33.9 percent to 28.6 percent advantage. The Racers did earn and advantage in the rebounding column, 49-42 and in free throws (80%-63.3%).
The Racers will be in action again, Sunday, Nov. 21 at Saint Louis. The game with the Billikens is set to tip-off at 2 p.m. in Chaifetz Arena.
Notes: The seven-game road trip that MSU started tonight against Evansville is the longest since the 1999-00 campaign when the Racers did the same…The longest road trip in school history is 11 games at the beginning of the 1996-97 season.
