Josh Embry
Sports Editor
The injury-riddled Murray State women’s basketball team suffered an 88-59 loss to Austin Peay at the CFSB Center in the final game of the regular season.
Both teams entered the game with the chance to secure the seventh seed in the OVC Tournament. With the loss, Murray State goes into next week as the lowest seeded team in the tournament.
Despite their seeding, the Racers are happy to make the tournament as this season has included a myriad of setbacks.
Sophomore guard Raegan Blackburn said it feels great to make the tournament with all the adversity they have faced this season.
“It feels good [making the OVC Tournament],” Blackburn said. “We beat a lot of odds and a lot of people didn’t think we would make it this far.”
With freshman forward Macie Gibson sitting out because of a knee injury along with sophomore guard Macey Turley, sophomore guard Sadie Hill and freshman guard Jentri Worley, Murray State entered the game with just eight active players and six regular rotational players.
Head Coach Rechelle Turner said with the amount of injuries the team has had, the team has to accept it and know that earning victories will be that much harder going forward.
“You just tell them, ‘It is what it is,’” Turner said. “I told them we would be hard-pressed to win very many games against very many teams right now. We are depleted. There are no if, ands or buts about it.”
Despite the need for the players to accept the situation they are in, Turner knows it is not easy for them to see their teammates sitting out.
“It is difficult mentally as much as it is physically when you look up and the ones that you are used to playing with are sitting in street clothes,” Turner said.
The Racers were not able to overcome their lack of depth, and it proved to be the main factor in their loss.
The team’s inability to insert other players into the game led to the ones playing becoming fatigued. Fatigue led to even less depth in the third quarter as junior forward Laci Hawthorne earned her fourth foul at the 6:47 mark and sophomore guard Lex Mayes picked up her fourth just over a minute later, sending both to the bench.
With both Hawthorne and Mayes out, the Governors took advantage and went on a 13-4 run in a two-minute span, making four three-pointers and increasing their lead to 15 points. Murray State was never able to recover from this run.
“In the second half, you get tired, people playing out of position [and] foul trouble,” Turner said. “There were a lot of things that did not go our way.”
In the final quarter, the Racers were outscored 22-8, shot just 2-for-12 and had seven turnovers.
Blackburn said foul trouble and fatigue were what stopped the Racers from coming away with the win.
“I would say foul trouble [stopped us],” Blackburn said. “Lex having four and then [Hawthorne] had four so that kind of got us out a bit. And then also fatigue. We know we only have eight players playing right now so that kind of gets you sometimes.”
Another consequence of fatigue and foul trouble was the Racers’ inability to guard the three-point line. Austin Peay, who shoots as a team just 31% from deep, shot 42.4% and made 14 triples. Murray State’s fatigue and lack of depth forced them to play zone defense, which led to the Governors having a field day from behind the arc.
Austin Peay took advantage of the Racers’ lack of guard play as well, as they applied full-court pressure the majority of the game, forcing 20 Murray State turnovers that led to 25 points for the Governors.
Turner credited Austin Peay for its impressive performance and said they will be a tough team to beat in the OVC tournament.
“Give Austin Peay credit,” Turner said. “They made lots of shots. They are a good basketball team. They play a lot of kids. David has done a really good job with that team this year and I think they have gotten better as the year has gone on and that is a credit to him and his staff. They will be a tough out in Evansville for sure, especially if they are shooting the ball well.”
The Governors were led by freshman guard Ella Sawyer, who went 6-for-8 from deep to finish with a career-high 26 points. Senior guard Nieja Crawford (12 points and seven rebounds), junior forward Myah Leflore (nine points) and junior guard Tahanee Bennell (five points, six rebounds and three assists) rounded out the top performers for Austin Peay.
The Racers had balanced scoring throughout, but Mayes led the charge with 18 points (6-12 FG) followed by junior guard G’Torria Swinton, who continued her impressive play from last game as she scored a career-high 11 points and nearly finished with a double-double (nine rebounds).
Both Hawthorne and Blackburn scored nine points, but it was Hawthorne who continued to control the glass as she was one rebound shy of the career-high 17 rebounds she set two games earlier.
Sophomore guard Alexis Burpo struggled from the field (3-10 FG) but managed to have six points, three rebounds and two assists. Junior guard Ashley Hunter contributed six points.
Despite the challenges Murray State faced in the game and throughout the season, they have never stopped playing hard for Turner.
“I just feel like we don’t quit,” Hawthorne said. “I think that is what our coach really likes about us. We just fight until the end.”
Turner said this team is going to be remembered more for their toughness and work ethic than for their record.
“I told them before the game, ‘People are not going to remember this team for their record,’” Turner said. “‘They are going to remember this team for their grit and they are going to remember how you clawed everything out of this season that you could.’”
Although Murray State is focused on the present and is playing to potentially win an OVC Championship, the team is hopeful for what lies ahead next season in terms of new players coming in and current players returning from injury.
“I think [the future] is hopeful,” Blackburn said. “Coming in next year, we have several good players that will help us out a lot so we have more size coming in [and] more depth.”
With there being no seniors on the team, Turner said going to Evansville will play a big role in helping the team improve and gain experience for next season.
“It is a big challenge ahead of us but to be able to get the kids to Evansville [and] to give them the experience of being in the tournament [is great for us],” Turner said. “I am really glad that the kids who have not been to the tournament will get that experience so that they are ready to step up and help us when we get back there next year. I think they are going to grow from it and they are going to learn from it and we are going to come out on the other side better for it.”
Murray State will face off against No. 1 seeded UT Martin (20-9) at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, in Evansville, Indiana, at the Ford Center.
