Murray State
13-10,10-8OVC
SIUE
6-16,3-14OVC
Racers Clinch OVC Bid With Senior Night Win
2/20/2021 8:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Another big third quarter from MSU led to a 68-60 defeat of SIUE
The Murray State women's basketball team clinched its fourth consecutive OVC tournament berth under head coach Rechelle Turner with a 68-60 win over SIUE Saturday night at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The night also held further importance, as prior to the game,MSU honored seniors Laci Hawthorne and G'Torria Swinton and senior managers Brittany Lawson and Mallory Stone.
The Racers zipped out to an early 6-0 lead in the game, but were soon overtaken by the Cougars who led for most of the first half. Murray State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and trailed by 9, 35-26, at halftime.
However, the offense the Racers had been looking for in the first half came alive in the second as they outscored SIUE, 42-25, in the second half and 27-12 in the third quarter alone.Pairing Saturday's third with the 17-5 third quarter against EIU Thursday, MSU has now outscored opponents, 44-17, in the third frame over the past two games
With 5:30 left in the third quarter Prima Chellis scored for SIUE to push her team's lead out to seven, at 47-40. That would be the last basket the Cougars would score until 2:50 left in the fourth quarter as the Racers scored the next 21 points to take a 61-47 lead. SIUE made a 9-0 run at the end of the game, but it was too little, too late as the Racers held on for the eight-point win.
Katelyn Young led Murray State on the night with 25 points and 10 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double and eighth of the season. Lex Mayes followed with 11 points, while Alexis Burpo came off the bench to score nine points, pull down five rebounds and grab a career-high six steals.
The win was the 10th of the season in the OVC, a feat which has not been accomplished since the 2008-09 championship season. In addition, with the clinching of the OVC berth it marks the first time the Racers have gone to four-straight league tournaments since the four-year span of 2009-10 to 2012-13. Finally, Saturday's win guaranteed the Racers a final record of .500 or better, something that has only been done twice since the 2008-09 season.
Up next for Murray State is a regular-season ending road trip to Jacksonville State Thursday and Tennessee Tech Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for at 4:30 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Saturday with both games being broadcast on ESPN+, WNBS 97.9 FM and the Zeno Radio app.
