Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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The Murray State women’s basketball team ended their season with a lopsided 86-54 win over SEMO on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The Racers finished the regular season with a 21-8 record overall and a 13-5 record in the OVC. To add on to it, sophomore forward Katelyn Young was named OVC Player of the Year.
Junior guard Johne Stewert was the first to score as she nailed a three-pointer for the Redhawks to start the game. The Racers answered with a layup from sophomore forward Hannah McKay and a three-pointer from senior guard Macey Turley to put the Racers up 5-3.
Following a pair of free throws from senior forward Alexis Burpo, Stewart and freshman guard Jaliyah Green made layups to tie the game at seven.
The Racers broke loose with a 10-0 run started by a three from Young. That was followed by two layups from Young and a few free throws from sophomore forward Bria Sanders-Woods to end the run.
Another pair of layups from Young and Burpo ended the first quarter, and the Racers led the Redhawks 25-11.
The lead continued to grow for the Racers in the second quarter with a jumper from Turley and a layup from Young putting Murray State up 29-11.
The Redhawks dug into the lead with free throws from senior guard Taelour Pruitt and a layup from freshman forward Halle Smith, cutting the lead to 14 points. That was all they could do though as shots rained in from Turley, Young and Burpo to put the Racers up by 22 points.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Pruitt and senior guard Deanay Watson cut the lead to 18 points, but a free throw from freshman forward Jaidah Black and a layup from Young pushed the Racers up 44-23 as the second quarter came to a close.
Turley opened up the second half with a three-pointer and followed it up with a layup, putting the Racers up 26 points. A jumper from freshman guard Kennedi Watkins helped SEMO a tad, but Young got six straight points to extend the Racers lead to 31.
The Redhawks managed a 9-0 run in the third quarter with points coming in from Greene, junior guard Kori Tomlin, sophomore guard Chandler Davis and freshman center Diona Reed.
The Racers ended the third quarter on a 13-2 run featuring points from McKay, Young, Sanders-Woods, Black, sophomore forward Charlee Settle and freshman guard Cayson Conner. Heading into the final quarter, the Racers led the Redhawks 69-36.
Settle opened the fourth quarter with a layup that was quickly answered by Watkins. Connor followed it up with a layup, and senior guard Raegan Blackburn hit a three-pointer to give the Racers a 37 point lead, their largest lead of the game.
The Redhawks began to cut into the lead with baskets coming in from Watson and Watkins as well as a three-pointer from sophomore forward Michaela Mayfield. Another three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Greene cut the Racers lead to 26 points.
The Racers ended the game on an 8-2 run with three-pointers from Blackburn and junior forward Isabell West. When the final buzzer went off, the Racers ended their regular season with a 32-point victory, defeating the Redhawks 86-54.
Young led the Racers with 29 points and eight rebounds, shooting 10-14 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line. Turley followed with 12 points, shooting 5-10 from the field. Burpo finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Watkins led the Redhawks with 10 points followed by Greene with nine points and seven rebounds. Both Stewert and Watson had seven points.
Turner spoke postgame about the upcoming OVC tournament. She said it will be one tough game after another for the Racers.
“There’s a lot of good teams that will be right there at the top,” Turner said. “We’ve got to get locked in for the tournament. We’ve got to get to Evansville and make a great run.”
Murray State ends the regular season with a 13-5 OVC record and 21-8 record overall. The Racers move to the OVC tournament when they play SIUE at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in Evansville, Indiana.
