MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State went on a 13-0 run to end the third quarter and pushed past SIUE women's basketball 68-60 Saturday at the CFSB Center.
SIUE and Murray State split the season series with the home team taking each contest. Saturday's game was a tale of two different halves with SIUE controlling the first 20 minutes and Murray State besting the Cougars in the final 20 minutes.
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The Cougars led by as many as 10 points in the first half after Prima Chellis hit a bucket with 6:10 left in the second quarter. SIUE shot 51.9 percent from the field and hit all three of its three-point attempts in the first two quarters.
"I thought we played a really good first half. She shared the ball well," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher.
Two SIUE players recorded career highs overall with Mikia Keith leading the way with 20 points and Chellis scoring 11. Ajulua Thatha and Mikayla Kinnard added 12 points each.
Murray State improved to 13-10 overall and 10-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference by turning everything around in the third quarter. After trailing 35-26 at halftime, the Racers chipped away at SIUE's lead by forcing turnovers and putting the Cougars' post players in deeper foul trouble.
"We had post players in foul trouble in the first half too. We handled that really well," said Buscher. "In the second half, they made that run and we just couldn't step up and stop the run."
After scoring 26 in the first 20 minutes, Murray State scored 27 points in the third period.
Murray State's Katelyn Young led all scorers with 25 points, her best offensive effort of the OVC season. She scored 12 of her points in that pivotal third quarter.
SIUE, 6-16 overall and 3-14 in the OVC, now returns home for the final three games of the regular season. The Cougars play a makeup contest Monday at 1 p.m. against Jacksonville State. The schedule closes out Thursday against UT Martin and Saturday against Southeast Missouri for Senior Day.
