Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee State
Racers Fall In Final Minutes to Tennessee State
1/6/2011 9:21:05 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
MSU was led by junior Kayla Lowe, who tallied her second double-double of the season. The Pikeville, Ky., native garnered 12 points and 10 rebounds, while adding two assists. Sophomore Tessa Elkins also had a strong performance for the Racers, with 11 points and a season-best five rebounds.
The opening stanza was a back-and-forth battle with both teams trading baskets and runs. The Racers were the first to go on a run, scoring five-straight points after TSU got on the board first at the start of the game. The Lady Tigers then countered with a 6-0 run of their own to take the lead back. Both teams then traded baskets for the next few minutes. MSU was trailing by four, with nine minutes left to play, when the Racers started a 9-0 run over a 3:30 span to regain the advantage. The teams then traded baskets through the rest of the half and MSU earned the last bucket to take a 25-23 lead into the locker room.
The second half saw the teams trading baskets until the final four minutes. During the first 16 minutes of the half no team led by more than two points, the lead changed seven times and the score was knotted eight times.
With 3:30 left to play in the game, the Lady Tigers started a 6-0 run, with four points coming at the charity stripe, which gave them the advantage for good. The Racers pushed in the final two minutes, with Lowe earning her double-double on a triple with 41 seconds on the clock. The three cut the lead to one (57-58), but TSU's Tayla Foster grabbed an offensive rebound and sank a lay-up with nine seconds left to secure the win. Lowe and sophomore Mariah Robinson both made three-point attempts in the final seconds, but were unable to force overtime.
The difference in the game was shooting percentages in the second half. MSU held the Lady Tigers to 34.6 percent in the first half, but then TSU shot 45.2 percent in the second. The Racers shot 32.8 percent for the game. Another key difference came at the charity stripe, where the Lady Tigers took advantage of the extra shots that they were allowed to take. TSU went 13-of-18 from the free-throw line (72.2%), while MSU attempted just nine shots (making six).
The Racers will have one more home game before returning to the road. MSU will host Austin Peay, Saturday, Jan. 8 at approximately 1:15 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's game with the Governors.
Notes: Junior Mallory Schwab tallied a career-best five assists for the second-straight game…this was the first loss at home against the Lady Tigers since the 2007-08 campaign and just the eighth time in the series.
