Story by Gage Johnson
Sports Editor
gjohnson17@murraystate.edu
With a four-point deficit entering the third quarter, zero turnovers and 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc, Murray State turned a 28-16 fourth quarter into an 82-74 victory to remain in a tie for sixth place in the OVC.
The Racers kicked off the game jumping out to a 15-7 lead with 1:59 left in the first quarter. From there the Redhawks went on a 16-2 run stretching into the second quarter. Behind sophomore guard Tesia Thompson’s 17 points, SEMO headed into the locker room holding a 38-31.
Murray State picked up its offensive efficiency in the third quarter, but every time the Racers scored, the Redhawks had an answer. SEMO forced six Murray State turnovers and shot 61.5 percent en route to a 58-54 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Redhawks seemed to be running away with the game as the CFSB went silent during a 9-0 run to give SEMO a 67-60 lead with 6:41 left to play. Head Coach Rechelle Turner called a timeout for the Racers, and junior forward Evelyn Adebayo said that’s when they realized they needed to flip the switch.
“We just had to come together and kind of have a reality check,” Adebayo said. “We knew this was a must win game if we wanted to go to Evansville. I think after that timeout we showed that we wanted it more and we came out tougher and didn’t give them anything easy.”
The switch was flipped to on and it stayed there. Murray State used a barrage of threes and 10-for-11 shooting from the charity stripe to outscore the Redhawks 22-7 for the remainder of the game. The Racers only had the lead for 11:06 while SEMO had it for 22:51, but it was Murray State who walked away with an 82-74 win.
Offensively, the Racers poured on arguably the most impressive offensive performance of the season. After a rough first half, Murray State shot 67 percent from the field and went 8-10 from deep. All five starters scored in double figures, as junior guard Griffith-Wallace and Adebayo went for 20 each. Adebayo also added 10 rebounds on the night, earning her 18th double-double of the season.
“This team is resilient,” Turner said. “We’ve got kids that are continuing to step up day after day and make huge plays for us.”
A crucial factor in the Racers’ improvement offensively has been the play of Griffith-Wallace. She has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games, and Turner said this is what she knew Griffith-Wallace was capable of.
“When she made that three, I thought ‘that is the player I chased to recruit,’” Turner said. “That is the player that I turned rocks over to get here. That’s the player I knew she was. She has really come into her own. When she plays like this, we’re a pretty good team.”
With the win, Murray State is now 8-8 and tied for sixth place in the OVC with Jacksonville State. The Racers hold the tiebreaker over the Gamecocks heading into their matchups against Morehead State and Austin Peay.
Murray State will look to cement its spot in the conference tournament when they take on the Eagles at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, at Morehead, Kentucky.