Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Racers Fall in OVC Opener at Eastern Kentucky
12/2/2010 9:33:39 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
The Racers (2-5, 0-1 OVC) were led by sophomore Mariah Robinson and red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey. Robinson tallied a season-best 21 points and added five rebounds, while shooting .750 from three-point range (3-of-4) and adding three steals and two assists. Winfrey led MSU with six rebounds and added a career-high 17 points. Junior Kayla Lowe was also in double figures in scoring, with 15.
The Colonels opened the first half with two-straight triples in the first minute of the game. The Racers followed with a 4-0 run of their own over the next 1:30, but were unable to even the score. The teams then went long stretches throughout the half without scoring. EKU held on to the lead until the 11 minute mark when Robinson tied the game at 14 with a three-pointer. The Colonels quickly regained the lead and went on a 6-0 run. MSU cut the deficit to one (22-21), with 4:30 left on a 6-2 run, but like before EKU followed with several three-pointers to pull away again. EKU led by eight with just under four minutes left in the opening stanza, but Robinson tallied nine points for the Racers to help cut the advantage to five, 37-32, heading into the intermission.
MSU came out fighting in the second half and cut the lead to one (39-38) in the first 2:30, but the Colonels built the lead back to four seconds later. Freshman Allison Karst then came in and helped push the momentum and cut the lead to one again (42-41). MSU kept fighting and junior Rachael Isom gave the Racers their first lead of the game, with 13:33 remaining, on a three-point play.
The teams then traded baskets before junior Kayla Lowe started a 7-0 run over a three-minute span to increase the lead to three. The teams again traded the lead over the next few minutes before Lowe started another 6-0 run that gave MSU a 54-49 advantage with 10 minutes left to play. Neither team scored for the next 2:30, but it was the Colonels who took control of the scoreboard and went on a 10-0 run that gave them the lead back for good, with 4:30 left to play.
After struggling with shooting for the past few games, the Racers had a strong night on the court, shooting 41.4 (29-of-70) from the field and 33.3 (6-of-18) from beyond the arc. However, the Colonels shot the ball well, hitting 41.0 percent of their shots from the field and 45.2 percent from three-point range. The difference in the game came down to rebounds and late free-throws. EKU earned a 51-29 rebounding advantage, including a 14-4 lead on the offensive glass. The Colonels also made 19-of-23 shots from the charity stripe, while only allowing MSU to get to the line 12 times (nine makes).
The Racers will now travel to Morehead, Ky., to battle with Morehead State, Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4:45 p.m. (CST) at Johnson Arena.
Notes: Robinson ended the first half with a season-best 17 points…MSU is now 16-18 in OVC openers, 5-12 when playing the first game on the road and 4-5 when playing against EKU…this was the sixth straight OVC opener against the Colonels…the Racers out-scored the Colonels 40-18 in the paint, but gave up 11 second-chance points while not earning any of their own.
