Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Morehead State
Racers Nipped By Eagles, 66-63, In Key OVC Contest
2/26/2010 3:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team led most of the game, but fell to Morehead State, 66-63, in a key Ohio Valley Conference game at Johnson Arena.
The Racers are now 12-16 overall and 7-10 against league opponents. With a UT Martin win at Eastern Kentucky earlier today, MSU is now guaranteed to be playing on the road in the first round of the OVC Championships, Tuesday, March 2.
The Racers were led by senior Kayla Vance and sophomore Kayla Lowe. Vance tallied 19 points, while Lowe contributed 15, marking the third-straight game in double-digits for the Pikeville, Ky., native. Senior Mallory Luckett was also in double-figure scoring for MSU, with 11 points.
The Eagles opened the first three minutes of the game with a 6-0 run, holding the Racers scoreless until 16:43 remained in the opening half. MSU followed with a 5-0 run of its own over the next minute to cut the deficit to one point (6-5). The score remained close for the next three minutes before the Racers went on another 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game (17-15).
Morehead State quickly tied the game and the score remained either a tie or a two-point lead for either team over the next 3:30 before Vance hit a three, with 7:50 left, to put the Racers up for good in the half. The triple capped off an 8-0 run that went from 10:55 to 7:06. After the Eagles scored four points, MSU again went on a 6-0 run to push its lead out to nine with just over 4:30 left in the stanza. Morehead State then used a 3-0 and a 5-0 run in the final four minutes of the game to cut the lead to six, with 1:12 left. The game was close for the remainder of time, but the Racers went to the locker room with a 40-33 advantage.
Like the opening half, the Eagles came out strong at the start of the second. Morehead State held the Racers without a field goal until 15:31 remaining in the game, but because of free throws the team's each tallied two points during the span. The team's then traded 5-0 runs over the next five minutes before the Eagles cut the deficit to one (49-48), with an 8-0 run over a two-minute span. Lowe stopped the run by going on a personal 6-0 run for the Racers, but Morehead State again went on a run. This time the Eagles tied the game at 55, with 4:53 remaining.
The game remained close for the next minute before Morehead State used one final run to take the lead and earn the victory. The Eagles used a 7-0 run to take a 62-57 lead, but MSU did not give up and cut the lead to one with four key free throws in the final two minutes. The push was not enough for the Racers to earn the victory as they were held without a field goal for the final 4:30 of the game.
Rebounding was the main difference in the game, as MSU was out-rebounded 52-27, including a 22-4 mark on the offensive boards. The Racers did hold the Eagles, who lead the nation in three-point shots made per game (10.5), to just four and tallied eight of their own during the game.
The Racers will conclude the 2009-10 regular season, Saturday, Feb. 27 at Eastern Kentucky, with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m. (CST). MSU's season will not be finished however, as they have earned a spot in the 2009 OVC Championship first round, to be played at campus site, Tuesday, March 2. The Racers will have to wait until the conclusion of all this week's league contests to find out where and who they will face.
Notes: The Racers kept the Eagles to just two three-point shots in the first half of action, well below their nation's leading 10.5 triples a game...senior Kayla Vance had 15 points in the opening half of action.
Quotes
Head Coach Rob Cross
"Twenty-two offensive rebounds to four and you get out-rebounded by 25 against the second-best team in the league - that is the difference in the ball game."
"If we can fix the rebounding situation and continue to play the way we are in all the other areas of the game we can win ball games."
"We were able to keep the best three-point shooting team in the nation to just four today, but when you give up 22 offensive rebounds it is too much to overcome. We chased them out of a lot of three-point shots and that forced them to make 20 turnovers tonight."
"It is phenomenal that we have been in the last two games as much as we have when you are getting out-rebounded like this."
"We have one game left in the regular season and they we will have to see where we will be going for the first round game."
