Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
jmilani@murraystate.edu
Defense was on display for the SEMO Redhawks on Thursday, Jan. 14, when they defeated the Murray State Racers 69-53.
Both teams started off slow, with neither scoring more than three points during the first 3:30. A floater by junior guard Macey Turley put the Racers up 5-3. SEMO played great defense in the quarter, blocking five shots, with three of those blocks coming from senior forward Latrese Saine. Murray State took a 10-9 lead with 2:28 left in the quarter and went on a 7-0 run to finish the quarter. The Racers led 14-9 going into the second quarter.
The Racers managed to hold the Redhawks for some time, extending their lead to 18-13. However, SEMO took a 19-18 lead thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard Roshala Scott with 5:13 left in the quarter. The teams battled back and forth after that, but the Redhawks took the advantage and went into the half up 25-24
At halftime, Murray State was led in scoring by freshman forward Katelyn Young with 10 points on 4-10 shooting. Young also had three rebounds and two steals in the half. Junior guard Lex Mayes had six points at the half. She shot 2-4 from three point range and grabbed six rebounds. Turley had four points at halftime, as well as two rebounds and four assists.
Saine, Scott and senior guard Tesia Thompson combined for 15 of the Redhawks’ 25 points in the first half. Saine also had six blocks and seven rebounds at halftime, leading the team in both stats.
The Racers jumped out to an early lead in the third and led 30-25 at the 8:30 mark. SEMO got going after this and eventually took a 34-32 lead with 4:53 left. Saine had another four blocks in the quarter, which brought her total to eight in the game and 10 blocks for SEMO as a team. The Redhawks extended their lead when they went on an 8-4 run to end the quarter. SEMO led Murray State 42-36 going into the forth.
In the fourth, the Redhawks continued to extend their lead, going up 48-38 at the 7:17 mark thanks to a three-pointer from Thompson. Murray State managed to bring the game to within six at 50-44 with 6:13 left in the game, but the Racers were never able to take the lead back. SEMO rolled on, scoring another 19 points in the final six minutes. The Redhawks walked away victorious, beating the Racers 69-53.
SEMO was led to victory by Thompson, who scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists. Scott finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Saine finished with nine points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks in the game.
The Racers were led by Young, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Turley finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mayes had nine points, six rebounds and two steals in the game.
Murray State drops back to an even 5-5 record and falls to 2-3 in the conference. The Racers take on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m.