Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
jmilani@murraystate.edu
A lack of efficiency on the offensive end kept the Murray State Racers from earning their second OVC win of the season, falling to SIUE 64-57.
Murray State started the game off shooting 5-5 from the field, including a three pointer from junior guard Macey Turley at the 8:47 mark. The Racers struggled shooting after this however, finishing the quarter shooting just 6-19 from the field.
The Cougars had trouble shooting the ball as well, shooting 6-17 from the field in the quarter. The Racers outrebounded SIUE 14-11, including seven offensive rebounds. Murray State led at the end of the quarter 15-12.
SIUE was hot in the second quarter, making 10 of its 15 shot attempts, and two of its four three-point field goal attempts. Murray State had difficulty scoring, shooting only 4-16 from the field.
After the Cougars went on a 8-2 run , the Racers clawed their way back, coming to within one point of SIUE at 26-25. However, the Cougars finished the quarter on an 8-0 run and went into half with a 34-25 lead.
At the half, Murray State was led in scoring by freshman forward Katelyn Young and senior forward Laci Hawthorne who had six points each. Young and Hawthorne also had five and four rebounds, respectively.
The Cougars were led in scoring by sophomore guard Tori Handley, who had seven points on 3-4 shooting, as well as a rebound. Sophomore forward Ajulu Thatha had six points and three rebounds.
SIUE carried their dominance into the third quarter, scoring 16 points on 8-14 shooting. Junior forward Kelsie Williams, in just her second game, scored eight points in the quarter. She would go on to score 10 points in the game.
Murray State shot 5-6 from the free throw line, but shot just 4-12 from the field in the third quarter. The Racers did manage to pull down nine more rebounds, four of which came from Hawthorne. However, the Racers had trouble slowing down the Cougars so SIUE went into the fourth quarter up 50-38.
The Racers started the fourth quarter strong, making three of their first four shot attempts in the first 2:17, including another 3-pointer by Turley. However, the last 12 points from the Racers came from the free-throw line, as they shot 0-10 from the field in the last 7:43 of the quarter. SIUE shot 4-14 in the quarter, but their five free throws were enough to propel them to a 64-57 victory.
The Cougars were led to victory by Handley, who scored 14 points on 4-6 shooting from the field, including two three pointers. Williams finished with 10 points in the game and pulled down six rebounds. Thatha finished with nine points on 4-7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds of her own.
Turley led the way for the Racers with 18 points and five rebounds. Young finished with 13 points on 5-10 shooting and had eight rebounds. Hawthorne finished with six points and 12 rebounds.
Murray State finished the game shooting 17-61 from the field and 2-24 from three-point range. The Coungers outrebounded the Racers 41-40 and scored 46 points in the paint compared to the Racers’ 26.
SIUE stays home for their next game against EIU on Monday, Jan. 11. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.
The Racers head back home to the CFSB Center after the loss. Their next game is against Morehead State on Monday, Jan. 11. The game is set to start at 4 p.m.