Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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A game winning bucket gave the Murray State women’s basketball team the win in Edwardsville, Illinois, as the Racers defeated SIUE 84-82.

After the Cougars scored five straight points to tie the game, senior guard Macey Turley scored the game winning layup to put the Racers up with just five seconds left. Turley finished with 19 points and seven assists in the Racers’ victory.

The game was a back-and-forth battle that neither team was willing to lose. In the first quarter, the Cougars struck first with a layup from graduate guard Allie Troekler, but sophomore forward Hannah McKay quickly answered on the other end to make it a 2-2 tie.

The Racers began to take a lead with back-to-back layups from McKay and senior forward Alexis Burpo. Junior guard Jaida Hampton tied it back up at 10 with a three-pointer, leaving the teams stuck in a deadlock.

Later in the quarter, a pair of layups from Burpo and sophomore guard Bria Sanders-Woods put the Racers up three with 2:22 to go in the quarter. The Cougars were quick to answer as they went on a 6-0 run to go up 21-18 at the end of the first quarter.

The Racers took the lead back in the second quarter with back-to-back shots from Burpo and sophomore forward Katelyn Young. The Cougars were quick to get the points back though with layups from Troeckler and senior guard Mikia Keith, putting the Cougars up 25-22.

Troeckler added to her point total with another pair of layups to extend the Cougars lead to five. However, the Racers were able to tie the game up as Turley made a driving layup and Sander-Woods hit a three-pointer to make it 29 all.

The Cougars weren’t willing to give in as Keith and senior forward Prima Chellis each hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight.

As time in the half ran down, the Racers battled back. With a bucket from Young at the buzzer, the Racers went into halftime down 39-34.

Burpo led the Racers at halftime with 12 points and four rebounds on 5-7 shooting from the field. Young followed with eight points and three rebounds on 4-5 shooting. 

The Racers came out firing in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points of the third quarter. It started with two layups from McKay, followed by a layup from Young and a second-chance basket from Burpo, putting the Racers up 42-41.

Keith quickly took the lead back for the Cougars with a three-pointer, but four straight points from Young kept the game in the Racers favor.

As the quarter continued, neither team was able to take a commanding lead. The Racers managed to keep control with four unanswered points from Turley, but the Cougars managed to stay on the Racers heels. As the third quarter came to a close, the Racers were up 61-59.

Senior guard Lex Mayes got the fourth quarter started with a three-pointer which was promptly followed with a layup from Young to give the Racers a seven-point lead. Despite free throws from Chellis and senior guard Gabby Nikitinaite, the Racers held on to their seven-point lead.

Throughout the quarter, the Racers slowly built onto their lead, with a mid-range jumper from Turley putting the Racers up by 11 with just 3:35 left in the game.

Following a three-pointer from Nikitinaite, the Cougars began to eat away at the Racers lead. Two more three-pointers from Nikitinaite brought the Cougars within two points of the Racers, then a layup from Troeckler tied the game at 82 all with 10 seconds on the clock.

With time winding down, the Racers had to make a play. The ball was passed in to Turley, who made a move, drove into the lane and laid the ball up and in with five seconds left. Nikitinaite missed the last second shot by the Cougars, and the Racers walked out of Edwardsville victorious, defeating the Cougars by a score of 84-82.

Young led the Racers with 20 points, followed by Turley with 19, Burpo with 17 and McKay with 16. Young also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Burpo had nine. Turley led the team in assists with seven.

The Racers improve to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in conference play. They return home on Saturday, Jan. 29, to take on Morehead State at 2 p.m. in the CFSB Center.