Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
12-15
Southeast Missouri
12-15
Racers Catch Fire In Second Half For Win Over SEMO
2/23/2019 9:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team shot 66.-7-percent from the floor and 80-percent from 3-point range in the second half of Saturday's game at the CFSB Center in Murray to rally for an 82-74 win over Southeast Missouri.
It was a tale of two halves for the Racers, as they went just 8-for 30 overall and 2-for-11 from beyond-the-arc in the first half, on top of committing nine turnovers. In the second half, however, Murray State found its rhythm and went 16-of-24 from the floor, 8-for-10 from 3-point range and turned the ball over just three times, including no turnovers in the final 10 minutes of the game.
After battling back and losing the lead in the third, it was back-to-back 3-pointers from Evelyn Adebayo and Janika Griffith-Wallace that gave the Racers what would be their final lead of the game. Murray State would go on to lead by as many as six and by few as one, but is was Griffith-Wallace's third 3-point basket in as many attempts with 1:37 remaining that iced the game for Murray State. The Racers closed out the final three minutes of the game on a 10-3 run en route to the 82-74 win.
All five starters reached double figures in the game with Griffith-Wallace and Adebayo leading the way with 20 points each. In addition to her 12th 20-plus point performance of the season, the Adebayo also pulled down 10 rebounds to extend her school record for double-doubles in a season to 18.
Macey Turley added 13 to the cause, while Lex Mayes and Brianna Crane each chipped in 12. Turley was an impressive 9-for-11 at the free throw line Saturday and also added a game-high seven assists and four rebounds.
The win moves MSU to 12-15 on the season and 8-8 in the OVC, while the loss drops SEMO to 12-15 and 7-9, respectively. At 8-8, the Racers currently sit in a tie for sixth place in the OVC standings with Jacksonville State, who they hold the tiebreaker over.
With just two games left in the regular season, Murray State will make one final road trip, followed by the season finale at home. On Thursday, the Racers head east to take on Morehead State, followed by a Heritage Bank Battle of the Border matchup Saturday at home against Austin Peay.
