Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
11-15 (7-8OVC)
UT Martin
18-8 (10-5OVC)
Racers Go Wire-To-Wire In Win Over UTM
2/21/2019 9:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
For the fourth time this season and the first time in OVC play, the Murray State women's basketball team went wire-to-wire for a 76-73 win over UT Martin, Thursday night at the CFSB Center in Murray.
The Racers jumped out an early 12-4 and went on to hold the Skyhawks to just seven points in the first quarter. Murray State continued to build on the advantage throughout the second and took a 58-41 lead into the locker room at the break. In the third, the Skyhawks began to fight back an actually outscored the Racers, despite still trailing by 17 at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth however, UT Martin was lights out from the floor, making 12 of 16 baskets, and played a smothering defense, forcing 11 turnovers in the stanza. The Skyhawks continued to chip away at the for the remainder of the game until Zaire Hicks finally made it a one-possession game with a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining. Demi Burdick eventually cut the lead to only one with four seconds left on a second-chance layup.
With three seconds left, the Skyhawks sent Evelyn Adebayo to the line where she made both of her attempts to push the lead back out to three. UT Martin got one last chance at tying the game but was unable to score, allowing the Racers to pick up their first win over UT Martin at home since 2010.
Despite being outshot and committing more turnovers in the game, the Racers once again turned to their bread and butter at the free throw line to help them get the win. Murray State went 22-for-26 at the charity stripe on the night including a 7-for-8 performance by Adebayo and a 7-for-9 clip from Macey Turley. Turley, however, did see her consecutive free throw streak come to an end in the game, but her 29 straight makes will go down as the third most in school history.
Turley led all scorers in the game with 21 points, while Janika Griffith-Wallace followed with 19. Lex Mayes added 13 to the cause, while Adebayo had 18 to round out four double-digit scorers for the Racers.
Adebayo also had 12 rebounds to go along with her 18 points for her 17th double-double of the season, a new Murray State single-season record. With her double-double Thursday, Adebayo passed Karen Hubert-Price, who was the first to accomplish the feat in the 1983-84 season, and Stephanie Minor, who had 16 double-doubles in each of her three seasons as a Racer from 1994 to 1997.
The Racers will look shore up their record as the end of the regular season looms Saturday, when they play host to Southeast Missouri at the CFSB Center at 5 p.m.
