Big Second Half Propels SIU Past Racers

Wednesday, December 2

CFSB Center

6 p.m.

Murray State

2-5

Southern Illinois

3-3

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Southern Illinois	13	13	28	16	70
Murray State	15	14	10	18	57

Photo by: Sam Sheffer

12/2/2015 7:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Southern Illinois scored 28 points in the third quarter and made 11-of-16 from the floor for 68.8 percent to open the second half as the Murray State women's basketball team let a lead to start the third quarter slip away, on the way to a 70-57 loss for the Racers.

It was a tale of two halves for the Racers (2-5) in the game as they shot 36.7 percent from the floor and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half, only to see that drop to just 30 percent shooting in the second half and 1-for-12 from beyond the arc. SIU shot just 25 percent from the field in the opening two quarters and hit 58.6 (17-for-29) in the second half.

Ke'Shunan James led the way offensively for MSU with 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting and also added seven boards. Jashae Lee scored a career-high 15 points on the night while Kyra Gulledge grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. It's the fourth time this season Gulledge has had 11 rebounds. LeAsia Wright had a solid all-around game, scoring seven points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing-out five assists and led the team with four steals.

MSU had a 26-24 edge in points in the paint in the game and also had an 8-0 advantage in fast break points. The Salukis scored 13 points off 14 Murray State turnovers while the Racers had 11 points off of just 10 Saluki miscues. SIU held a 7-2 edge on second-chance points and had a slim 40-39 edge in rebounding. Both teams grabbed 10 offensive boards.

Dyana Pierre scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds in the game after scoring just four points and having two boards in the first 20 minutes. Cartaesha Macklin led all scorers with 24 points and had seven assists for SIU.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven lead changes and a pair of ties. The Racers went on a 7-1 run to end the first quarter and led 15-13 after one. In the second quarter, MSU closed on a 10-3 run over the final 3:54 of the half and took a 29-26 lead into the locker room, despite trailing for a majority of the half.

MSU will play its third Missouri Valley team of the season Saturday as the Racers travel to face Evansville in a 1 p.m. contest from the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.