Josh Embry
Staff Writer
jembry3@murraystate.edu
Shooting woes came back to haunt Murray State women’s basketball as its three-game winning streak ended at the hands of Belmont with a 70-53 defeat in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Bruins, who are the No. 1 scoring defense in the OVC, showed their defensive prowess like they did in their last game against Murray State two weeks earlier when they held the Racers to just 56 points and 32.8% shooting.
The Racers managed to shoot only 33% from field and 27% from three-point range. Head Coach Rechelle Turner said the team cannot win games shooting as poorly as they did.
“We are not going to beat good teams shooting [32 percent],” Turner said. “We got several field goal attempts up today [but] we just did not make them. We have got to find a way to finish those plays. We have to find a way to make those shots.”
The two teams traded baskets in the first quarter and after ten minutes, Murray State trailed by just one point. The second quarter ultimately saw the Bruins pull away. They didn’t lose their lead the rest of the game.
The Racers managed to shoot just 3-for-17 in the quarter and allowed Belmont to shoot 8-for-14.
Coming out of halftime, both teams struggled offensively, but the Bruins still held a 12-point lead going into the final quarter. The game was all but over at that point, as Belmont went on to win by 17 points.
The Bruins outsize almost every Racer and this was evident today, as they had their way in the paint, scoring 38 points compared to Murray State’s 20. Turner said Belmont’s size and paint presence is a reason they have struggled against this team this season.
“Belmont is very good [and] they are very big,” Turner said. “They are a tough matchup for us. They scored 38 paint-points and that is way too many.”
A bright spot in an otherwise disappointing game was the offensive performance of freshman forward Macie Gibson, who finished with a team-high 17 points while shooting 5-for-8 from deep. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Turner said Gibson’s increased minutes has led to her feeling more comfortable and confident shooting the ball.
“It is great to see her shooting the basketball as well as she is and she is shooting it with confidence,” Turner said. “The more minutes she gets late in the season, the more comfortable she gets and she continues to do good things. Her ability to give us offense is something we are going to have to have.”
Sophomore forward Alexis Burpo, who was named the OVC Player of the Week last week, continued her impressive second half of the season, as she had a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Additionally, junior forward Laci Hawthorne, who was the OVC Newcomer of the Week last week, had a solid overall game, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists.
“[Burpo] just continues to show people what she is capable of doing and Laci continues to improve and work for us,” Turner said. Those two kids continue to get better each and every night out.”
Sophomore guard Macey Turley struggled offensively (5-19 FG) but still scored 10 points and four assists.
Sophomore guard Lex Mayes had her nose broken a week earlier and was questionable for this game. However, she suited up and played 37 minutes and tallied five points, three rebounds and two assists. Belmont was able to contain Mayes’ three point shooting as she shot just 1-for-5 from deep. She had been shooting 48% from three in her six games prior.
“She is tough,” Turner said. “If I had a broken nose, I would probably still be in the bed. She did not get off as many shots as we would have liked for her to today but they know that she can shoot and they took that away.”
The Bruins were led by senior forward Ellie Harmeyer, as she dominated the game with 21 points (8-11 FG), 14 rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Jamilyn Kinney tallied 13 points along with three rebounds and five assists.
Sophomore Conley Chinn (8.1 ppg), who scored 20 points on the Racers in their last matchup, was limited to five points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Murray State falls back to .500 on the year at 11-11 and slide to 4-7 in conference play. Turner knows how crucial these last seven games are for the team’s chance of making the conference tournament and for making a deep run.
“We have got seven games left to get ourselves to the tournament and seven games to improve so that we are playing our best basketball when we get there,” Turner said.
The Racers will look to get back in the win column as they travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for the second time this week to take on Tennessee State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8.