Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
10-6, 2-1
Tennessee Tech
5-12, 2-2
Racers Unable to Find Rhythm at TTU
1/7/2017 7:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Murray State was held to season-lows in most offensive categories Saturday night in Cookeville, Tenn., as the Racers were dealt their first setback in conference play this season, losing at Tennessee Tech 72-54.
The Racers' 54 points are a season-low, as was their 31.3 percent shooting from the floor, 15 percent shooting from 3-point range and the three made 3-pointers. Meanwhile, TTU (5-12, 2-2 OVC) shot nearly 53 percent overall and went 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.
MSU got off to a decent start to the contest and led after the first quarter, 13-11. Late in the first half was when the Golden Eagles took control as they ended the first half on a 7-0 run the final 1:12 of the second quarter and took a 37-27 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Racers were able to cut the deficit down to seven, 44-37 with 3:26 left in the period, but that was as close as they'd get the rest of the contest as TTU would push its lead out to as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Jasmine Borders tied a season-high with 17 points to lead the Racers in the loss. Borders was the only Racer to make a shot from long range. Ke'Shunan James had 16 points on the night while Kyra Gulledge scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds along with Bria Bethea, who's eight boards ties a career-high for her.
The Golden Eagles were able to get a slight, 40-36 edge in points in the paint, but the Racers had a 25-9 advantage on points off turnovers and a narrow 9-7 edge on second-chance points and a 15-12 advantage in fast break points.
MSU returns home Wednesday for a 1 p.m., game against Eastern Illinois. It will be the Racers' lone home game before returning to the road for three straight games.
