Josh Embry
Sports Editor
After a close 66-65 win against EKU and a Morehead State loss, Murray State women’s basketball has punched its ticket to the OVC Tournament.
With the win, the Racers move to 7-10 in conference play. Austin Peay defeated Morehead State to move to 8-9 in the conference and currently holds the seventh seed.
If Murray State defeats Austin Peay on Saturday, Feb. 29, the Racers will have the same record as the Governors. Since the Racers own a victory over a team seeded higher than any team Austin Peay has beaten, Murray State will own the tiebreaker and finish as the seventh seed.
Although the Racers were able to come away with a crucial win, they suffered yet another injury. Freshman forward Macie Gibson exited the game with just over three minutes left in the first quarter after injuring her knee and sat out the rest of the game.
Following the game, Head Coach Rechelle Turner said she knew nothing regarding Gibson’s injury. Turner also said sophomore guard Macey Turley, who missed the last game with a knee injury, had an MRI and is out indefinitely.
After Gibson’s injury, the Racers were limited to just eight players and six rotational players. Turner said the team’s ability to overcome injuries shows how resilient the team is in the face of adversity.
“Just what a resilient effort by these kids,” Turner said. “They just made big shots and big plays when they had to. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I would have been just as proud if we had lost the game because how they continue to play and focus when their friends are going down left and right is really beyond me.”
In the first quarter, Murray State was not able to hold onto the ball, as they had nine turnovers compared to 10 field goal attempts. EKU came out firing on all cylinders as they shot 60% from the field. Junior guard Teri Goodlett, who averages 10 ppg, outscored the entire Racers team. She erupted for 12 points in the opening quarter alone.
Murray State flipped the script in the second quarter, much to the scoring efforts of Hawthorne and junior guard Ashley Hunter, who scored nine points and seven points, respectively, in the quarter. A 9-0 scoring run by Hawthorne and Hunter tied the game, but the Racers trailed 33-32 at halftime.
Murray State was able to cut its turnovers down from nine in the first quarter to just two in the second quarter. The decision to go away from running pick-and-rolls helped limit the amount of turnovers.
“We just did a better job of taking care of [the ball] and made better decisions, and we also went away from running ball-screen plays that allowed them to double us so that might have helped,” Turner said.
However, Turner said the team might have been influenced to limit their turnovers because of other factors.
“We talked about [the turnovers] being 11 at halftime,” Turner said. “Our goal was only to have 12. They have punishments for everything above the goals that we have so I am sure they got together and were like, ‘Listen, we are running on fumes. We are not doing any [running].’”
Just a minute into the third quarter, the Racers had another injury scare when an EKU player fell on sophomore forward Alexis Burpo’s ankle after she was double-teamed.
Burpo left the game but appeared fine soon after and entered back into the game with what appeared to be no signs of pain
Both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter, with multiple scoring droughts between the two teams. An offensive rebound and lay-in at the buzzer by junior center I’Liyah Green gave EKU a 47-46 lead entering the final quarter.
Going into the fourth quarter, Murray State was experiencing foul trouble, as Swinton had four fouls and Hawthorne three. Hawthorne earned her fourth foul with just under seven minutes left to play.
Hawthorne knew if the team was going to have a chance to win the game, she would have to find ways to not get a fifth foul.
“I was just thinking in my head, ‘I have to be smart [with my fouls]’ so I didn’t want to do any crazy things like go over someone’s back,” Hawthorne said. “ [I] just played smart.”
The lead changed hands throughout the final quarter, but it was tied at 60-60 with just under three minutes to play. A deep three by sophomore guard Raegan Blackburn was followed by a three by EKU. An offensive rebound coupled with a putback put the Colonels up one point with 22 seconds to go.
The ensuing possession, Burpo brought the ball up the court, sized up her defender and drove hard into the lane and finished the layup to take a one-point lead with 10 seconds remaining. EKU was unable to score the following possession and the Racers held on for a 66-65 win.
Hawthorne said since the team was in the bonus, they knew they could be aggressive going toward the rim, and no one was better than Burpo when driving to the basket.
“We were in the bonus already so if they were to foul, we were going to shoot free throws, so we knew that we just had to be aggressive,” Hawthorne said. “[Burpo] is a really good driver so [we] just let her do her thing.”
Lack of offense has been a recurring problem for Murray State but Turner knew that if the ball was in Burpo’s hand, she was going to score or assist another teammate.
“Right now in our situation we are limited offensively but we know she can get to the rim and create for herself and others,” Turner said. “Who better to put the ball in their hands than Alexis and she has come through time and time again for us this year.”
The Governors were led by Goodlett (20 points, three rebounds and three assists), junior guard Bria Bass (16 points and seven rebounds), senior guard Catie Kaifes (13 points and six rebounds) and Green (nine points and eight rebounds).
The Racers were led by Burpo, who finished with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Hawthorne, who followed up her 20-point, 17-rebound game against SIUE with 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Turner said Hawthorne’s ability to step up even more as the leading upperclassman with the plethora of injuries the team has suffered shows how Hawthorne has improved both on the court and through her leadership.
“She just continues to be outstanding,” Turner said. “Just her work and her effort and her attitude and her leadership out there on the floor has been huge but she’s playing the way we expected her to play. For her to go out in this situation and her knowing that I am leaning on her now more than ever and being able to perform says a lot about who she is.”
Blackburn contributed eight points. Sophomore guard Lex Mayes drilled two triples to finish with 11 points. Hunter scored all her points in the second quarter as she added seven points.
Swinton, who previously played at most 14 minutes in a game this season, was forced to play 30 minutes tonight but did so extremely well, as she finished with a career-high 11 rebounds and two steals.
“I knew I was the next man to step up so I just made sure I worked hard for the team and play good defense and get rebounds,” Swinton said. “That’s what they needed, so I got it done.”
The Racers wanted to control their own destiny regarding their entrance into the OVC Tournament, and with tonight’s win, they did just that.
“We want to get to the tournament because we earned it, not because somebody loses two games or somebody beats somebody else for us and tonight we came out and did what we had to do and got this win,” Turner said.
The Racers will look to clinch the seventh seed in the last game of the regular season when they take on Austin Peay at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29, at the CFSB Center.
