Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
It was a nail biter in the CFSB Center on Saturday, Feb. 13, when the Murray State women’s basketball team took on the UT Martin Skyhawks.
The Racers led for a majority of the game, but the Skyhawks managed to pull it out on a last-second layup to defeat the Racers by a score of 67-65.
The Racers got out to a quick 6-2 lead in the first quarter with four of those points coming from senior forward Laci Hawthorne. The Skyhawks took a 7-6 lead with 5:56 left in the quarter, but the Racers took the lead back on the next possession with a three-pointer from junior guard Macey Turley. That three-pointer started a 6-0 run where Turley scored all six points. The Racers led by 12 points with 47 seconds left in the quarter and went into the second quarter up 25-15.
The Skyhawks made a comeback in the second quarter where they scored 13 points compared to the Racers’ seven points. The Skyhawks shot 6-19 in the quarter while the Racers shot just 3-12 and turned the ball over four times. UT Martin finished the quarter by going on a 9-0 run over the last three minutes. As both teams went to the locker rooms for halftime, the Racers still led the Skyhawks by a score of 32-28.
The Skyhawks’ bench was a large factor in their offense in the first half, scoring 18 points compared to the Racers’ four bench points. Turley and Hawthorne led the way for the Racers with 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Senior forward Chelsea Perry led the Skyhawks in both points and rebounds with eight points and four rebounds.
The Racers attempted to extend their lead in the third quarter but the Skyhawks kept right with them. The Skyhawks scored 19 points on 7-17 shooting in the quarter while the Racers scored 18 points on 4-13 shooting from the field and 9-11 shooting from the free throw line. The one point difference was enough for the Skyhawks to cut into the Racers’ lead as the Racers led the Skyhawks 50-47 going into the fourth quarter.
The Skyhawks took over in the fourth quarter. After hitting the first shot in the quarter then giving up a basket to Murray State, the Skyhawks went on a 7-0 run to take a 56-52 lead with 6:42 left in the game. However, the Racers hung on and took a 61-58 lead thanks to a pair of free throws from Turley. Sophomore guard Saygan Robbins made a three-pointer to take a 65-63 lead with eight seconds left. Freshman forward Katelyn Young tied the game with a layup and Perry made a layup with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Skyhawks the lead and ultimately the win. The Skyhawks walked away victorious, defeating the Racers by a score of 67-65.
Turley finished the game with 22 points on 6-12 shooting from the field, 4-6 from three-point range and 6-6 from the free throw line. She spoke postgame about the loss, saying it’s disappointing losing but the team still played well.
“Obviously it’s disappointing losing whenever we were so close,” Turley said. “I think we played great. There were a few mishaps toward the end but this team is fighting. They’re always gonna go till the final buzzer sounds so I think we did great.”
Turley also spoke on the game plan late in the game, saying the team was focused on getting stops and executing on offense.
“They went to a 1-3-1 zone, which kind of disrupted our offense for a bit,” Turley said. “I think once we started attacking the middle, we could get open looks. It sucks that we left Seygan (Robbins) open but that’s just how basketball plays.”
Young finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the game, her sixth double-double of the season. She said postgame that this team has come a long way this season to get to where they are.
“We’ve come a long way,” Young said. “I felt like at first we were all very young and new to D1 basketball and college basketball in general. I feel that we’ve bonded really well and connected on the court and just gotten used to each other and how we play. I think it’s just coming out very well right now.”
Young also spoke about the loss, saying she takes away some positivity from the team and how they played in the game.
“I think we’re playing our best basketball as Coach always says,” Young said. “I’m really happy about that. Playing good competition and everything, especially like UT Martin, is good for us.”
Head Coach Rechelle Turner spoke postgame about the loss, taking the blame for her play calling late in the game.
“”It was a good game,” Turner said. “They are a very good team. The most disappointing thing for me is I feel like that one’s on me. You know who they’re going to at the end. We didn’t do things exactly how we had talked about, but you can’t let (Perry) beat you on the last shot and that’s exactly what we allowed to happen… I’m extremely disappointed in myself for letting that happen, but I’m extremely proud of our kids.”
Turner also talked about the program as a whole this season and where it stands. She said the program is in great shape and that the players are very confident.
“I think the players that we have in our program are hungry,” Turner said. “They are playing with a lot of confidence and they really enjoy playing together and for each other. We have a great mixture of youth and veteran players. Kids continue to step up and do big things. I’m extremely proud of where we are going.”
Murray State drops to 11-10 on the season and 8-8 in the conference. The Racers stay at home at the CFSB Center on Thursday, Feb. 18, when they play Eastern Illinois University at 4:30 p.m.
