Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee Tech
Racers Fall to Golden Eagles, 80-67
2/11/2010 4:05:59 PM | Women's Basketball
MSU was led by senior Kayla Vance, who tallied a career-high and season-high for the Racers, with 27 points. The West Paducah, Ky., native also added three offensive rebounds. Fellow senior Mallory Luckett garnered a double-digit point total, with 12. Freshman Mariah Robinson was two points shy of her first career double-double, as she nabbed 10 rebounds, added eight points and a career-high three blocks.
“It is a shame that we wasted such an outstanding effort by Kayla Vance,” said head coach Rob Cross. “Mariah Robinson also did a great job off the bench to help us defensively and offensively rebounding.”
The Racers were the first team to get on the board, 50 seconds into the game, but the Golden Eagles then went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for the rest of the half. MSU cut the lead to two points over the next six minutes, including a stretch with three-straight triples. The deficit was kept within two and four points for the next four minutes before TTU went on a 7-0 run to push the lead back out to nine points. The Racers kept fighting and went into the locker room trailing by seven, 38-31.
The teams traded the first few baskets of the half, before the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run over a three minute span to push the lead to double-digits. MSU fought back with a 4-0 run of its own, but it was not enough to stop TTU, as the lead was built back up to double-digits, with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game. The lead remained there for the rest of the game, with the largest advantage being 16 points.
Rebounding was key in the win for the Golden Eagles, as they earned a 41-29 advantage on the boards. TTU also earned an advantage shooting, with a 46 percent mark (29-of-63) for the game. MSU shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) for the game, but hit just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the field in the second half to a 47.1 percent (16-of-34) mark from the Golden Eagles.
The Racers now travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to face Jacksonville State, Saturday, Feb. 13 for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Head Coach Rob Cross
“We will defiantly have changes to the starting line-up Saturday. We need to find players that are going to be ready to play hard from the start of the game, not just when we get down.”
“You have to give credit to Kellie Cook and Tacarra Hayes for their offensive effort tonight.”
“We now have to focus our attention on Jacksonville State and make sure that we are day to play hard Saturday.”
