Murray State University Athletics
Sunday, November 12
Evansville, Ind.
1 p.m.
Murray State
81
at
89
Evansville
Late Game Surge Comes Up Short in Opener
11/12/2017 3:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Murray State's fourth quarter comeback fell short Sunday afternoon in Evansville, Ind., as the Racer women's basketball team dropped its season opener to Evansville, 89-81.
MSU trailed 70-54 going into the final period and was able to get within four, 75-71 with 4:12 to play before a 3-pointer from Hannah Noe pushed UE's lead back up to seven and from there on, the Purple Aces were able to salt the game away at the free-throw line.
The Purple Aces went 28-for-32 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe Sunday, including going 14-of-15 in the final two minutes. The Racers went 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the line.
Evansville got off to a hot start Sunday as it hit 12-of-18 shots in the first quarter and made 5-of-6 from 3-point range to build a 31-14 lead after one. In the second quarter, the Purple Aces built their lead up to as many as 22, 47-25 with 2:43 remaining and led at halftime 51-33.
For the game, the Racers (0-1) shot 41.1 percent from the floor and hit just 8-of-29 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, UE (1-0) shot 48.1 percent for the game and hit 9-of-21 from 3-point range, including just 2-of-10 in the second half.
The duo of Bria Bethea and Ke'Shunan James were dynamic offensively in the loss as James led the team with 30 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and also dished-out five assists. Bethea added 28 points and 10 boards of her own on the day. Bethea and James combined to shoot 21-for-40 from the field and went 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Bethea hit a team-best four threes and also went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. Abria Gulledge added 18 points in the loss.
The Purple Aces got a big push from their bench in the game as they outscored the Racers' reserves 20-1. MSU did have a 40-28 edge in points in the paint and a 19-13 advantage in points off turnovers. UE outrebounded MSU by two (39-37) on the day but the Racers had a 13-5 second-chance points edge as they recorded six more offensive rebounds.
The Racers return to action Wednesday in their home opener as Butler comes to town for an 11 a.m., contest.
MSU trailed 70-54 going into the final period and was able to get within four, 75-71 with 4:12 to play before a 3-pointer from Hannah Noe pushed UE's lead back up to seven and from there on, the Purple Aces were able to salt the game away at the free-throw line.
The Purple Aces went 28-for-32 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe Sunday, including going 14-of-15 in the final two minutes. The Racers went 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the line.
Evansville got off to a hot start Sunday as it hit 12-of-18 shots in the first quarter and made 5-of-6 from 3-point range to build a 31-14 lead after one. In the second quarter, the Purple Aces built their lead up to as many as 22, 47-25 with 2:43 remaining and led at halftime 51-33.
For the game, the Racers (0-1) shot 41.1 percent from the floor and hit just 8-of-29 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, UE (1-0) shot 48.1 percent for the game and hit 9-of-21 from 3-point range, including just 2-of-10 in the second half.
The duo of Bria Bethea and Ke'Shunan James were dynamic offensively in the loss as James led the team with 30 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and also dished-out five assists. Bethea added 28 points and 10 boards of her own on the day. Bethea and James combined to shoot 21-for-40 from the field and went 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Bethea hit a team-best four threes and also went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. Abria Gulledge added 18 points in the loss.
The Purple Aces got a big push from their bench in the game as they outscored the Racers' reserves 20-1. MSU did have a 40-28 edge in points in the paint and a 19-13 advantage in points off turnovers. UE outrebounded MSU by two (39-37) on the day but the Racers had a 13-5 second-chance points edge as they recorded six more offensive rebounds.
The Racers return to action Wednesday in their home opener as Butler comes to town for an 11 a.m., contest.
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