Racers Hang Tough at No. 10 Florida State

Saturday, December 19

Tallahassee, Fla.

1 p.m.

Murray State

4-7

101

Florida State

9-2

Murray State

Florida State

101

Photo by: John Neiser

12/19/2015 2:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The size and strength inside of 10^th-ranked Florida State proved to be too much for Murray State Saturday as the Racer women were defeated 101-59 by the Seminoles in Tallahassee.

The Racers (4-7) came out shooting the ball well from 3-point range and trailed by just one, 18-17 at the end of the first period. MSU took the lead to begin the second quarter as a pair of LeAsia Wright free throws put the Racers up 19-18. The Seminoles (9-2) then began to exploit their size inside and turn up the defensive pressure, going on a 23-2 run over the next 5:35 of the second quarter and led 41-21.

MSU proved to be up for the fight however, closing the half on an 11-6 run and went into the locker room trailing 47-32. The beginning of the second half went all Florida State, as the Seminoles outscored the Racers 23-8 in the third period and led 70-40 after three.

FSU controlled the fourth quarter and extended its lead further in the frame and led by as many as 44 with just over six minutes left to play in the game. MSU continued to fight in the period, going on runs of 7-0 and 6-0 later in the period.

The Racers shot the ball well from beyond the arc, going 16-of-40 from long range, shooting at a 40 percent clip. 16 of MSU's 18 made field goals were 3-pointers. The Racers shot 33 percent from the field in the loss while FSU shot 60 percent, while going 5-of-15 from long range.

The Seminoles controlled the inside in the contest with their big height advantage, gaining a 62-2 edge in points in the paint and out-rebounded the Racers 51-14. FSU also scored 27 second-chance points and had a 10-3 edge in fast break points. FSU scored 21 points off of 17 Murray State turnovers while the Racers forced 13 Seminoles miscues and scored 18 points off of those.

Ke'Shunan James led all scorers with 24 points in the loss. James and LeAsia Wright both went 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the loss. The 24 points scored are the second-most by an individual this season against FSU. Wright scored 21 in the game. Jashae Lee added six points. Wright led the way for MSU with four assists while Ajee Smith chipped in with three. The Seminoles got 21 each from Adut Bulgak and Shakayla Thomas. All-American Leticia Romero scored nine points, had nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds for the Seminoles.

The Racers are off next week for the holidays and return to action Dec. 30 when Lindenwood-Belleville comes to the CFSB Center for an exhibition contest at 5 p.m.