Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Jacksonville State
Racer Earn Thrilling 69-66 Win Over Jacksonville State
2/12/2011 9:39:28 PM | Women's Basketball
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Four of MSU's five starters tallied double-digit point totals, with the fifth missing the figure by one. Junior Mallory Schwab had a season-best 14 points along with sophomore Mariah Robinson, while sophomore Tessa Elkins and red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey each garnered 10. Winfrey also earned her eighth double-double of the season by adding 15 rebounds.
The first half was a series of runs and scoreless defensive streaks that resulted in two tie scores and three lead changes. The Gamecocks opened the half with a 4-0 run before Schwab got the Racers on the board with a three with 17:15 remaining. JSU held onto a one to three-point advantage for the next three minutes before a second-chance lay-up by Winfrey gave MSU a 9-8 lead. That started a 5-0 run for the Racers over a one-minute span.
MSU held onto its lead for three minutes before a Gamecock 14-3 run gave them the lead back and built it to seven (22-15). However, when JSU hit the last shot in the run, with 8:18 remaining, it was the last field goal for the Gamecocks until the second half. The Racers finished the stanza with a 16-5 run to take a 30-27 lead heading into the locker room. The run was capped off by a three by Elkins with two seconds left on the clock.
The Racers came out strong in the second half and went on two 5-0 runs in the first five minutes that pushed their lead out to nine. MSU slowly built its advantage to 13 points, with nine minutes left to play before the Gamecocks started a come-back. The Racers held their double-digit lead until the final six minutes of the game when JSU used several small runs to cut the deficit.
The Gamecocks made a strong push with two minutes left to play and over the next minute went on a 7-0 run that tied the game at 64. Robinson then went strong to the basket to make a lay-up and draw a foul that gave MSU a three-point lead again. JSU followed with its own basket before Isom made one-of-two free throws (42 seconds) to push the lead back to two points. The Gamecocks had a chance to tie the game, with 17.8 seconds remaining, but missed both shots at the charity stripe and a free-throw by Winfrey a second later ended the scoring and gave MSU the three-point win.
The Racers earned an advantage in the shooting percentage column, at 37.5 percent to 28.4 percent. MSU also made a season-best 10 triples to JSU's three, but lost the rebounding battle 51-46.
The Racers will now hit the road for the final two regular-season away games of the 2010-11 campaign. MSU will first stop in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to face Southeast Missouri (Feb. 17) and then continue on to battle Eastern Illinois (Feb. 19).
Notes: Junior Mallory Schwab opened the Racers' scoring for the second-straight game with a triple…Schwab also scored MSU's first point in the second half…the Racers attempted zero free throws in the opening stanza to JSU's 10…it was the second time this season with no free-throw attempts in the first half for MSU, the first was against Southeast Missouri (Jan.22) at home…the 34 triples attempted by MSU tied for the fourth-most in a single game in school history…the record is 37.
