Murray State was held to a season-low 47 points Wednesday night at SEC foe Alabama to close its non-conference schedule this season. The Racers were defeated 68-47 at Coleman Coliseum.
Jasmine Borders was the only Racer (4-7) in double figures as she had a team-high 13 points on the night while Bria Bethea and Ke’Shunan James just missed out on double-doubles as Bethea scored nine points and pulled down 10 boards, James had nine and nine in the loss and also added three steals.
The Crimson Tide (9-3) ended the first half on a 7-0 run the final 1:07 of the second quarter and for the second consecutive game, an MSU opponent made a half court buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half and UA led 30-20 at the break.
Alabama would go on a 23-6 run spanning from the end of the second quarter through the first part of the third and would push the lead to 52-35 after three quarters. The Crimson Tide led by as many as 28 with 5:05 left in the game.
MSU shot 35.6 percent from the floor in the loss and went just 2-for-21 from 3-point range. UA shot 39.7 percent overall and went 5-of-18 from beyond the arc. The Crimson Tide had a 23-10 margin in second-chance points and their bench outscored the Racers’ reserves 39-19.
The Tide had a slim margin in points in the paint (40-32) and points off turnovers (17-15). MSU also made a season-low three free throws in the contest while Alabama went 9-for-12 at the charity stripe.
Wednesday was the final game for the Racers before the holiday break. MSU returns to action and begins OVC play December 28 as Eastern Illinois comes to the CFSB Center.
by Kevin DeVries
