Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
SIU Edwardsville
Racers Fall to SIU Edwardsville in Final Regular-Season Non-Conference Game
1/25/2011 10:39:44 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
The Racers (6-14, 2-7 OVC) were led by sophomore Mariah Robinson and red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey. Robinson tallied 14 points, while Winfrey was in double-digits in the rebounding column for the third-straight game, with 11. Junior Rachael Isom was also a strong scorer for MSU, with 11 points.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle for control of the scoreboard, with four ties and eight lead changes. The Racers got on the board first, with a three from Robinson at 19:49, and then they held the Cougars scoreless for almost the first three minutes of the game. However, MSU did not score any more points during the span. The teams then traded points over the next four minutes before the Racers started a 4-0 run, over a minute span. SIUE fought back, taking advantage of several trips to the free-throw line and regained the lead with 8:44 to play, ending a 5-0 run with 5:54 left to play. The teams traded triples and then freshman Allison Karst started a 4-0 run, with a put-back layup (4:29 left). In the final 2:30 of the half, SIUE earned four points to MSU's two, but the Racers took a 28-27 lead into the locker room.
The Cougars started the second half with a 5-0 run to take the lead, but MSU followed with a 4-0 run to resume the battled started in the first half. Both teams then held each other scoreless for several minutes before SIUE started a 13-2 run with 11:30 left to play the helped the Cougars increase their lead to 11 points, with just over eight minutes left to play. The Racers kept fighting through the rest of the half, but could not drop the deficit lower than seven points.
Rebounding and free throws were keys to the game, with SIUE earning advantages in both columns. The Cougars earned a 46-35 lead on the boards, including an 18-11 lead in offensive rebounds. SIUE also took advantage of its extra trips to the charity stripe, making 18-of-23. The Racers went 9-of-13 from the free-throw line.
The Racers will return home for an Ohio Valley Conference game, Saturday, Jan. 29 against UT Martin. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. at the CFSB Center.
Notes: Sophomore Candace Nevels made a late push for MSU, tallying the team's final five points in a six-second span.
