Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
It was a one-sided ball game in the CFSB Center Saturday, Jan. 23, when the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles defeated the Murray State Racers 75-58.
The Racers started the quarter by taking a quick 5-3 lead with 7:56 left in the quarter, but the Golden Eagles’ defense put a stop to the Racers’ scoring, holding them to no field goals over 5:40 and scoring 13 points in that time. The Golden Eagles forced five turnovers by the Racers in the first quarter and kept their scoring to a minimum. By the end of the quarter, the Golden Eagles were up 21-11.
Tennessee Tech continued to extend its lead in the second quarter as the team shot 7-15 from the field and 2-6 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Jada Guinn scored eight of the team’s 16 points in the quarter on 4-5 shooting from the field. The Racers scored 12 points in the quarter, 10 of which came from junior guard Macey Turley, who shot 4-6 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range. Despite Turley’s 12 point half, the Golden Eagles led 37-23 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles’ defense caused the Racers’ issues in the first half, as they forced 11 turnovers in the half, scoring 19 of their 37 points off of turnovers. The Racers had trouble shooting the ball in the first half as the team shot 9-25 from the field, just 36% compared to the Golden Eagles’ 52%.
Murray State’s scoring issues continued into the third quarter as the team made just one field goal in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Racers went on a scoring drought for 3:31 and allowed the Golden Eagles to score seven points in that time. Turley scored another 10 points in the quarter as she shot 3-7 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. The Racers shot 3-10 from the field in the quarter and turned the ball over four times. The Golden Eagles scored 25 points in the quarter on 9-17 shooting. As the teams headed to the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles led the Racers 62-38.
The Racers managed a good fourth quarter, scoring 20 points on 6-13 shooting from the field and 7-13 shooting from the free throw line. The Racers’ defense also played well in the fourth quarter, holding the Golden Eagles to 13 points on 6-16 shooting. The Golden Eagles fouled the Racers nine times in the final quarter, while the Racers had just three fouls in the quarter. Despite the final push, the Golden Eagles walked away victorious, topping the Racers 75-58.
The Golden Eagles finished with 42 points in the paint compared to the Racers’ 12 points. Turley discussed postgame about the Racers’ defensive struggles and what the Golden Eagles brought on offense.
“They had an inside out game, kind of like we did,” Turley said. “Mackenzie Coleman is tough down there. She’s a great passer so whenever we tried to double her she would just find the open cutter. She was just tough to guard.”
Turley finished the game with 22 points, her fourth straight game with 20-plus points. Turley said she just had a lot of opportunities to shoot the ball.
“Coach has been telling us that if we can see the basket then let it fly,” Turley said. “I think coming off the screens they got a little confused and I just saw the rim and just shot it.”
Head Coach Rechelle Turner also spoke about Turley’s performance, saying she was trying to pull the team along throughout the game.
“I felt like Macey (Turley) was the horse pulling the cart with four flat tires,” Turner said. “She was competing, she was going, trying to pull us along, trying to keep us in things, but no one joined in her effort and as good as she is, she’s not good enough to do it by herself.”
Turner also talked postgame about how disappointed she was in the loss, saying it was just a lack of competing both physically and mentally.
“They are a very good basketball team,” Turner said. “We could’ve played well and still lost, but you certainly can’t come out flat and get totally dominated… The games we’ve been successful in was because all 15 (players) played a part in that, whether it was on the bench or it was sparks going into the game or being able to produce defensive stops together or maybe coming in and giving us an offensive spark, but we didn’t have any of those tonight. Simply just disappointed in the effort. The result is what it is, but we have to make sure that we understand that if we’re not physically and mentally ready to play each night, this can happen.”
The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Racers in the game 36-27, something Turner said was simply because the Golden Eagles outworked the Racers.
“When they got the ball inside, they scored it and if they didn’t score it, they fought and got the rebound,” Turner said. “They are a very good basketball team. When you have Coleman inside and you know one-on-one she’s gonna score but then they surround her with shooters, it makes them very tough. I just wish we would have come out and competed the way we have been competing this week, but we just didn’t have it in us for some reason and it’s something we gotta make sure we get turned around before Monday.”
Murray State drops back down to an even 7-7 record and falls back to 4-5 in conference play. The Racers will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, for their next game against Austin Peay on Monday, Jan. 25, at 6 p.m.
