Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
It was all Murray State in the CFSB Center Tuesday afternoon as the Racers topped the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devilettes by a score of 85-60.
The Racers take home this victory just days after a close loss at Indiana State University.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Murray State was able to knock down eight of the Delta Devilettes’ 15 shot attempts. The Racers were also able to pull down 12 rebounds in the quarter.
Mississippi Valley had trouble scoring, going five of 19 from the field in the quarter, making just one of their seven shots in the final two minutes. Murray State came out of the quarter on top with a score of 17-12.
The second quarter was more fast paced, involving much more scoring from both sides. The Racers led in second-chance points with eight, despite having fewer offensive rebounds.
Freshman forward Katelyn Young finished the half with 14 points, going 6-7 from the field, five of those baskets being from mid-range. Senior forward Laci Hawthorne was also scoring plenty of baskets, with 10 points of her own at the half.
Despite these scoring efforts by the Racers, Mississippi Valley outscored Murray State 20-19 in the quarter. The Delta Devilettes pulled down more rebounds than Murray State as well, with a total of 10 in the quarter. Murray State managed to hold its lead though, going into halftime with a score of 36-32.
In the third quarter, Murray State stepped up on both sides of the court. On offense, the Racers scored 27 points in the quarter, spreading the scoring out amongst the team. On defense the Racers held the Delta Devilettes to just 16 points, allowing only five baskets. The Racers finished the quarter on a 17-6 run.
Mississippi Valley did manage to keep up in rebound numbers, grabbing 12 rebounds compared to Murray State’s 13 rebounds. The Delta Devilettes also had plenty of free throw opportunities thanks to the Racers’ eights fouls in the quarter. However, the Racers still led, 63-48.
The fourth quarter was all Murray State, putting up a total of 20 points in the quarter while only allowing 12 points. Junior guard Lex Mayes had 11 points in the quarter, shooting 3-3 from three-point range and 4-6 from the field. The Delta Devilettes had no answers for the Murray State offense in the quarter and had six turnovers in the quarter compared to the Racers’ two. The Racers walked away victorious with a final score of 85-60.
The Racers finished the game with all five starters in double figures. Mayes finished the game as Murray State’s leading scorer with 22 points in total. She went 8-10 from the field and 6-7 from three-point-range. Hawthorne finished the game with 15 points, shooting 7-10 from the field and grabbing seven rebounds as well.
Young finished the game with 20 points, shooting 7-12 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. After the game, she talked about her gameplan on offense.
“I just like trying to be our big up inside, make my moves in there,” Young said. “But I had most of my shots from the outside, which I like being versatile. I like being able to scoot outside or stay down.”
Coach Rechelle Turner also spoke postgame about the team’s offensive flow with Young on the floor and how it expanded the offense.
“Because we have Katelyn on the inside, when we establish her early it forces us to score from the outside, and that’s one thing we weren’t able to do at Indiana State,” Coach Turner said. “When we can make shots after we’ve established her early, that makes us a whole different offensive team. Katelyn’s a green light shooter every single week from 15 to 17 feet, so we knew we would get that shot early. Our game plan from the beginning was to score inside with the basketball and that’s something that worked for us. I eventually opened it up for the outside and Lex and others were able to make some shots.”
The Racers improve to 2-2 on the season and look to stay in the winning column in their next game at the University of North Alabama. That game will be on Monday, Dec. 14, and will start at 6 p.m.
