Murray State
8-5
Mississippi Valley State
3-7
Hot Shooting Propels Racers to Victory
12/21/2016 5:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Murray State shot 69.6 percent from the floor in the second half and shot a season-high 54.4 percent for the game as the Racers closed their non-conference slate with an 80-62 victory over Mississippi Valley State Wednesday afternoon in Itta Bena, Miss.
The Racers (8-5) were able to overcome a season-high 28 turnovers in the win. MSU shot 11-of-23 from 3-point range on the day, a mark which was also a season-high and out-rebounded the Devilettes (3-7) 45-37.
LeAsia Wright and Ke'Shunan James were fantastic in the win for the Racers as the two scored 23 and 22 points, respectively. It is the fourth time this season that a pair of Racers have scored 20 points or more in the same game. James had an all-around great game as she shot 9-for-10 from the floor and had eight assists, five boards and a pair of steals. Meanwhile, Wright shot 9-of-14 and went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Those five 3-pointers are a season-best for Wright, who also grabbed six boards.
Jasmine Borders was the only other Racer in double figures as she added 10 points while Bria Bethea and Abria Gulledge chipped in with seven each. Kyra Gulledge had a solid stat line as she scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and tallied three blocks.
The first half was an exciting, back-and-forth affair as the two teams combined for 10 ties and 11 lead changes in the first two quarters of play. Trailing 17-12 in the first period, MSU closed the quarter with a 10-2 run and led 22-19 at the end of the quarter. Both teams scored 15 points in the second quarter and the Racers carried a slim 37-34 lead into halftime.
In the third, MSU was able to get some breathing room as it was able to push the lead to eight on multiple occasions and led 59-51 heading into the fourth. MVSU was able to close the gap to within seven points, 64-57 with 6:33 left to play. That was as close as the Racers would let them get however as they were able to close the game on a 16-5 run to pull away late.
The two teams were pretty even in the analytical stats as both scored 17 second-chance points, 38 points in the paint and eight fast break points. MVSU was able to outscore the Racers 24-14 in points off of turnovers and 15-12 in bench points.
The Devilettes shot just 32.4 percent from the field and were 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. MVSU also went just 12-of-27 at the free-throw line. In the second half, the Racers held the Devilettes to just 28.6 percent (10-for-35) shooting.
The win closes the door on MSU's non-conference schedule as the Racers will next return to action after the holiday break on Dec. 31 when Tennessee State comes to the CFSB Center for a 1 p.m., contest to open OVC play.
