Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
The dynamic duo of junior guard Macey Turley and freshman forward Katelyn Young propelled the Murray State women’s basketball team over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels by a score of 82-66.
The first quarter went back and forth with neither team willing to give up a big run. The Racers got out to a 4-0 lead early, but the Colonels quickly tied the game at four off a layup from senior forward Jayla Johnson. The Racers took the lead back at 6-4, but the Colonels went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Colonels held their lead through the end of the quarter and went into the second quarter up 21-17.
Murray State took the lead back midway through the second quarter as the team went on a 10-0 run to take a 32-25 lead with 4:06 remaining in the quarter. The Racers held their lead through the end of the quarter, allowing just 13 points from EKU in the quarter. Turley made two free throws with eight seconds left, marking her 300th and 301st career free throws. Senior guard Bri Bass made a last-second three-pointer for the Colonels, but the Racers still led 40-34 at halftime.
Turley and Young each had 10 points for the Racers at halftime. The Racers led in rebounds with 22 compared to the Colonels’ 14. In the first half, the Racers shot 62.5% from three-point range, shooting 5-8 from behind the arc.
The Racers extended their lead in the third quarter, scoring 22 points in the quarter to outshine the Colonels’ 18. Turley and Young led the way for the Racers as both players finished the quarter with 20 points and 18 points, respectively. The Racers shot 7-8 from the free-throw line in the quarter and scored 11 points off turnovers. Turley closed out the quarter with a last-second layup and pushed the Racers lead to 10. The Racers led the Colonels 62-52.
The fourth quarter was controlled by the Racers, scoring 20 points while the Colonels only tallied 14. The Racers went on an 11-0 run from 4:55 to to the 30 second mark, extending their lead to 20. This was more than enough to close out the game as the Racers defeated the Colonels by a score of 82-66.
Turley led the Racers with 26 points in the game, shooting 10-19 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line. During the game, Turley pushed her career field goal total to 305. Young finished with 18 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, 7-7 shooting from the free-throw line and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman guard Bria Sanders-Woods finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Johnson led the way for the Colonels with 22 points on 9-20 shooting from the field, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Alice Recanati and freshman guard Kendall Wingler both finished the game with 12 points.
The Racers shot an efficient 47.5% from the field, while the Colonels shot below the 40% mark. The rebounding battle favored the Racers by a slim margin, with Murray State snagging 39 rebounds over the Colonels’ 37. The Racers were also able to take advantage of EKU’s mistakes on the offensive end, converting 25 points off turnovers throughout the game.
Murray State improves to 10-9 on the season and 7-7 in conference play, tying them for seventh in the conference. The Racers will return to the CFSB Center for their next game against SEMO on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 4:30 p.m.
