Tech women hang tough but fall to league-leading Lady Racers
MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State shot lights-out on its home
floor and the first-place Lady Racers needed every basket to
withstand a sensational effort by Tennessee Tech Thursday night,
downing the Golden Eagle women 91-84 in Ohio Valley Conference play
in the Regional Special Events Center.
Tech had just four turnovers in the first half and six in the game,
and the Golden Eagles hung tough with the league leaders, getting
within five points in the final minute, but Murray State (16-6/11-1
OVC) had too many weapons.
Ashley Haynes played all 40 minutes and led the way with a
31-point, 17-rebound double-double, going 12-for-19 from the field.
Amber Guffey added 18 points and six assists and Paige Guffey had
17 points and six rebounds.
The Golden Eagles (6-19/4-10) got extremely balanced scoring in
their bid to win three straight. Vivian Nwosu topped Amy
Brown’s squad with 17 points and eight rebounds, while
Jasmine White added 14 points and nine rebounds. Meagan Lyons and
Blair Bowens each scored 12, Krystal Stirrup 11 and Allison Price
nine points with six assists.
Price played 34 minutes without any turnovers, and has now played
the last 109 minutes with just one turnover.
Murray State shot 52.3 percent for the game, including 50 percent
(9-for-18) from long range. The Racers took advantage of that
dead-on shooting, including 63.3 percent in the second half, to
overcome a Tech squad that protected the basketball and just kept
fighting back. The Golden Eagles shot 38.5 percent and finished the
contest with a season-low six turnovers.
Rebounds were virtually even (43-40 for MSU). The Lady Racers had a
nine-point advantage at the free throw line, going 24-for-30 (80
percent) compared with 15-for-22 (69 percent) by Tech.
The Golden Eagles came to do business, and cashed in early with a
quick 8-2 lead just two minutes into the contest. The Lady Racers
returned the favor and tied things up, then went on to take a
four-point lead. Murray State held four-point leads three times,
before Tech managed an 8-1 run to regain the lead.
A jumper by Ashley Hayes at the 4:49 mark pushed Murray ahead by
five, 32-27. The largest MSU lead of the first half was seven
points, before freshman Rachel Glidden scored the final five points
of the half for the Golden Eagles to cut the deficit to three
points at halftime, 41-38.
Paige Guffey opened the second half with the first basket and Hayes
hit a 3-pointer to bump the MSU lead back to eight points, 46-38.
With 13 minutes to play, the lead grew to 13 points on a 3-pointer
by Amber Guffey, 61-48.
With MSU up by 10 with 5:21 remaining, the two teams slugged their
way through nearly two minutes of scoreless ball before Hayes hit
two free throws with 3:45 left to make it an 85-73 margin. A free
throw by Angela Mullins made it a 13-point lead with 2:46 to
play.
Tech scored the next six at the free throw line, two each by Nwosu,
White and Lyons, and pulled to within seven, 86-79, with 1:38 to
go. After Hayes hit one free throw, Nwosu made a layup to slice the
MSU lead to just six points with 41 seconds remaining.
A 3-pointer by Bowens with 24 ticks on the clock made it 89-84.
The Golden Eagles take the short jaunt to Martin, Tenn., where they
will meet the UT Martin Skyhawks Saturday at 4 p.m.
