Racers Fall to Saint Louis in Defensive Battle

Saturday, November 26

St. Louis, Mo.

2:00 PM

Murray State

Saint Louis

Photo by: Tab Brockman

11/26/2011 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score I Box Score (pdf)

The Murray State women's basketball team dropped a 59-49 decision to Saint Louis, in the first game of a home-and-home series with the Billikens over the next week, at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo.

“I thought we had pretty good energy for most of the game,” said head coach Rob Cross. “But we missed probably 30 layups tonight and you can't miss layups and free throws and win a ball game.”

The Racers (2-4) were led by junior Mariah Robinson who tallied 16 points and added four rebounds. Red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess sat out most of the first half in foul trouble and ended the first half with zero points. However, the Memphis, Tenn., native garnered 14 points in the second half, including seven in the final three minutes. Junior Kyra Watson led the Racers defensively with eight rebounds.

The first half was filled with runs and tight defense. The Racers opened the half with a 5-0 run over the first three minutes, but the Billikens countered with a 5-0 run over the next four minutes to knot the game at five. MSU took a 17-11 lead, on a 7-2 run with eight minutes remaining, but it was all SLU the rest of the half, with the Billikens going on a 13-2 run to enter the locker room with a 24-19 advantage.

The Racers opened the second half with a 4-0 run that cut the deficit to one (23-24), with 17:30 left to play. However, the Billikens put the game away with a 19-2 run from 17:00 to 9:20, without a MSU field goal (27-45). MSU fought back in the final minutes of the game to cut the deficit to 10, but it was not enough as they fell 59-49.

Low shooting percentages were the key to the loss for the Racers, as the team hit just 22.1 (17-of-77) percent of their shots from the field and 15.2 (5-of-33) from beyond the arc. SLU finished the game with a 34.8 (23-of-66) percentage from the floor and 14.3 (1-of-7) percent from beyond the arc. MSU was also out-rebounded 61 to 49.

“We didn't play well all the way around and got in foul trouble early,” Cross added. “The bottom line is we have to do a better job scoring the basketball.”

The Racers will conclude the last of four-straight road games, Tuesday, Nov. 29 at No. 9 Louisville. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m (CST) at the KFC YUM! Center.

Notes: The last time the half time score was below 20 for the Racers was Feb. 17, 2011 at Southeast Missouri…MSU led 19-15 at the half and ended up winning 54-34.