Racers Continue Winning Ways, with 54-34 Win at Southeast Missouri

Thursday, February 17

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

7 p.m.

Murray State

Southeast Missouri

Junior Kayla Lowe went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and tallied a team-best 15 points in the Racers win over SEMO.

Photo by: Tab Brockman

Racers Continue Winning Ways, with 54-34 Win at Southeast Missouri

2/17/2011 11:02:47 PM | Women's Basketball

The Murray State women's basketball team had an all-around game against Southeast Missouri, earning a 54-34 victory at the Show Me Center. By holding the Redhawks (8-17, 4-11 OVC) to just 34 points, it was the lowest amount of points allowed by an opponent since Nov. 22, 1976 when the Racers (8-18, 4-11 OVC) defeated Vanderbilt, 59-32. The win also moved MSU in the Ohio Valley Conference standings to a tie for seventh with SEMO.

Box Score

The Racers were led by a group of three players with either double-digit points or rebounds. Junior Kayla Lowe tallied a team-best 15 points, including 5-of-7 from three point range. Sophomore Tessa Elkins added 10 points and a season-best six boards, while red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey added 14 points.

The defensive battle that started in the opening game of the season at the CFSB Center continued to Cape Girardeau, Mo., as both teams combined for just 36 points in the opening stanza. SEMO got on the scoreboard first with 19:08 left to play, but the Racers answered with a 5-0 run to take a 5-2 lead with 17 minutes left. The Redhawks returned the favor and went on a 7-0 run until 13:25 remained to regain the advantage. Both teams then held each other scoreless over the next 3:30 before MSU was able to break the stalemate with a triple from junior Rachael Isom. SEMO then went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage with 6:47 left to play. Those points were the last for the Redhawks in the stanza, as MSU held them scoreless through the buzzer while adding eight to its total for a 19-15 lead.

The Racers continued to hold SEMO without a field goal until 15:29 (from 6:47 left in the first), extending the run to 10-2 (21-17). Both teams traded points for the next two minutes before MSU put the game away for good with a 16-0 run that included three triples from Lowe and one from Elkins. The run gave the Racers an 18-point advantage. MSU never led by less than 13 points the rest of the game and built its lead to as many as 21 points before earning the 54-34 victory.

The game was a tale of two halves, as the Racers shot just 20 percent in the first stanza and then hit 50 percent (12-of-24) of their shots in the second, including a .636 mark from beyond the arc (7-of-11). MSU held SEMO to around the same shooting percentage in both halves, allowing just a .228 mark (13-of-57) for the game, and a .048 (1-of-21) mark from beyond the arc. After trailing in the rebounding column early in the game, the Racers fought back to earn a 42-37 advantage.

The Racers will play their final regular-season road game of the 2010-11 campaign, Saturday, Feb. 19 in Charleston, Ill. MSU will battle with Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.

Notes: MSU hit a season-best 10 three-point shots for the third time this season…junior Rachael Isom tallied a career-best two blocks…this was just the second road victory for the Racers in the 2010-11 campaign.