Story by Gage Johnson
Senior writer
Murray State women’s basketball avenged its Jan. 19 loss to SIUE with one of its better offensive performances of the year, scoring over 70 points for the first time since Jan. 5 to claim an 81-75 win.
The Racers were clicking right out of the gates with a four-minute 14-0 run, alongside an 11-point first quarter from freshman guard Macey Turley which propelled the Racers to a 21-12 lead going into the second quarter.
The two teams would go back-and-forth, but an edge from beyond the arc would push Murray State past the Cougars with a 40-31 lead going into the locker room. The Racers shot 7-for-14 from three in the first half, with freshman guard Lex Mayes knocking down two. Mayes continued to light it up from deep throughout the game, going for 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
Mayes has struggled from three since the start of conference play, but her performance on the night assisted the team in a major way, according to Turley.
“It opens things up,” Turley said. “It opens things up for Ev (Evelyn Adebayo) because they have to honor Lex now, instead of bringing two people to double Ev. I think it’ll be helpful in the long run.”
Murray State wasn’t able to keep up its pace offensively to begin the second half, going 0-for-7 and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Junior forward Evelyn Adebayo knocked down the Racers’ first bucket of the half with 4:13 left in the third quarter, and they would overcome their early shooting woes to take a 57-53 into the fourth quarter.
The two teams continued to counter each team’s punches in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the Racers consistency on both ends of the floor gave them an 81-75 win over the Cougars.
The Racers had three players finish in double figures, as Adebayo added another double-double to her season total with 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Turley scored 20 points and Mayes scored 15.
The weekend sweep tied Murray State with SIUE for the seventh spot in the OVC standings. Now the Racers will hit the road to take on EKU and Austin Peay, as they look to claim a spot in the OVC tournament.
Murray State will tip-off against Eastern Kentucky at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Alumni Coliseum.
