Racers Rally Early, Can’t Hold Off SIUE Late

Saturday, January 18

Edwardsville, Ill.

4 p.m.

Murray State

8-9, 1-4OVC

SIU Edwardsville

5-13, 2-4OVC

Team	1	2	F
Murray St.	33	34	67
SIU Edwardsville	29	42	71

Photo by: Kyser Lough/Ledger & Times

1/18/2014 5:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

| Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF)

The Murray State women's basketball team dropped a very tough decision Saturday afternoon at SIU Edwardsville's Vadalabene Center, 61-57.

The first half started rough for the Racers, as the Cougars (5-13, 2-4) jumped out to an early 11-0 lead. However, the Racers did give in and rattled off three straight three and a jumper by Jashae Lee to tie the game at 11.

In the remainder of the half, the shooting cooled significantly for both teams. With 11:30 remaining in the game the two teams were tied at 19, the Racers would go on to tack on just 14 additional points in the rest of the half, while SIUE added just 10.

The Racers (8-9, 1-4) continued to chip away at the deficit until finally taking the lead on a pair of Julia Fox free throws, 31-29, with 1:47 to play. Fox would go on to add a lay-up at the buzzer to give MSU a 33-29 lead at the half. Fox had the final seven points of the stanza for Murray State; in fact seven of Fox's 10 first-half points came in the final 2:45 of the half.

The second half was just another verse of the same song from the first half, as the game played very tight, with neither team able to gain a solid advantage. The Cougars finally gained an edge with 9:08 to play when Ashley Capotosto sank a jumper that gave SIUE a lead they would never relinquish.

Murray State did not just lie down however; as they cut the lead to two or less in the final six minutes on six separate occasions. Taylor Porter converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with 40 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two at 67-65, giving the Racers their last best shot at the win or tie. It was not to be however, as a foul was called on MSU. Alexis Chappelle then stepped up big for Cougars and sank two free throws with 13 seconds left, virtually sealing the win for SIUE.

Janssen Starks and Julia Fox had career nights for the Racers, as they led the team with 24 and 15, respectively. Jessica Winfrey once again crashed the boards for MSU with a game-high 14 rebounds, while Chanyere Hosey followed with nine.

Tierny Austin led SIUE with 17 points in the game, while Micah Jones added 14 and Jessie Wendt had 10. Capotosto chipped in nine for her team's cause, to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Racers will now stay in the Land of Lincoln to close out their three-game road swing Monday at Eastern Illinois. Tip-off from Lantz Arena in Charleston is scheduled for 7 p.m.