Racers Fall 62-61 in Final Seconds to Eastern Kentucky

Monday, January 9

CFSB Center

7:00 PM

Murray State

Eastern Kentucky

Photo by: Tab Brockman

Racers Fall 62-61 in Final Seconds to Eastern Kentucky

1/9/2012 10:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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The Murray State women's basketball team dropped a nail-bitter to Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Kentucky, 62-61, in its first game at the CFSB Center since Dec. 3. The Racers (4-11, 1-3 OVC) came-back to tie the game in the second half after trailing by 11 points, but were unable to take the lead and fell to the Lady Colonels (8-7, 4-1 OVC).

The Racers were led by junior Mariah Robinson, who tallied 19 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Senior Kayla Lowe added 15 points and seven boards, while red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess netted 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

The first half was a balancing act with both teams going on several runs and combining for five ties and six lead changes before they went to the locker room knotted at 29. The teams traded 7-0 runs in the first six minutes of play before the Racers went on a 10-0 run, seven by Robinson, to take a 17-9 lead. The Lady Colonels countered with a 13-0 run to take a 22-17 advantage, with 7:15 left to play. MSU got within one (22-21), with a 4-0 run, with just over three minutes to play. However, in the final three minutes the Racers out-scored EKU 8-5 to force the 29-all tie.

After battling through the first five minutes in the second stanza, the Lady Colonels went on an 8-0 run that gave them a 46-40 advantage. EKU slowly built their lead to as many as 11 before a 9-0 run over a four-minute span helped the Racers tie the game at 54 with 3:40 left to play. The teams traded baskets for the next minute before a 4-0 run by EKU gave them a 60-56 lead with just over two minutes left to play. MSU used free throws by Burgess and senior Mallory Schwab to cut the lead to one (60-59) before the Lady Colonels hit two free throws to take a 62-59 lead with 56 seconds left to play. Junior Kyra Watson then pulled the Racers within one on a put-back, but that is how the game would end as both teams missed shots in the final 15 seconds to end the game 62-61 in favor of EKU.

Rebounds and free-throws were keys to the game, with the Lady Colonels holding advantages in both columns. EKU out-rebounded the Racers 48-41, including a 14-11 offensive difference. The Lady Colonels also made 16-of-18 attempts from the charity stripe, while the Racers got 14 attempts and made 11. MSU had a strong night shooting from beyond the arc making 10-of-27 (37%) and holding EKU to 4-of-16 (25%).

The Racers will continue their three-game home stand, Saturday, Jan. 14 when they host Tennessee Tech at 7:30 p.m. at the CFSB Center.

Notes: The Racers first three field goals in the first half and the first four in the second were all from beyond the arc…Mariah Robinson tallied double digits in the first half for the first time since Dec. 20 vs. Cleveland State…MSU has used eight different starting line-ups this season and have started nine-of-12 players on the bench…this is the third-most starting line-ups used by a team in NCAA DI this season.