Story by Collin Morris, Assistant Sports Editor
The Murray State women’s basketball team dropped its fourth-straight conference game tonight, losing to the Eagles of Morehead State 73-59.
The Racers (4-5) now sit at seventh place in the OVC, falling behind Eastern Kentucky (5-4) and remaining behind Tennessee Tech (6-4), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (5-4), Austin Peay State (5-5), Morehead State (7-3) and Belmont (9-0).
Morehead State’s defensive effort held the Racers to 29 percent field goal percentage on 20-of-68 shooting and 20 percent 3-point shooting on just 5-of-25 shooting for the game, while the Eagles shot 46 percent and 36 percent.
The Eagles won the first half by a margin of 43-24, including a 21-7 second quarter in their favor. The Racers rallied back in the second half, winning quarters three and four by five points but couldn’t overcome the staunch lead.
Ke’Shunan James, junior forward, led the Racers with 19 points on 39 percent shooting and seven rebounds. Junior guard Bria Bethea put together her third-straight double-digit scoring performance with 13 points on 44 percent shooting. No other Racers reached double-digit scoring figures.
For Morehead State, sophomore guard Miranda Crockett converted eight of her 14 shots, resulting in an 18-point outing on 57 percent shooting. Two other Eagles also entered double-digit scoring: redshirt senior guard Brianna McQueen with 15 points on 33 percent shooting and senior forward Shay Steele with 12 on 83 percent.
The Racers look to end their slump in the next game, against the Belmont Bruins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the CFSB Center.