Racers Withstand Furious Second Half Rally From Wildcats
The Murray State women’s basketball team was able to withstand a furious second half rally from Bethel (Tenn.) Monday night at the CFSB Center, as the Racers were able to hang on for an 81-76 victory.
The Racers (2-4) led by double digits for much of the contest, leading by as many as 18 points late in the third quarter. However, late into that third period, the Wildcats (5-5) went on a 5-0 run the final 57 seconds of the quarter and then went on a 20-8 run to begin the fourth quarter, tying the contest at 68-68 with 3:28 left to play.
A Jasmine Borders 3-pointer broke the tie with 3:09 before BU was able to tie the game at 71 all with a 3-pointer of its own on the very next possession. Ke’Shunan James broke the tie for good with a layup with 2:15 left to play and then another layup, this time for Borders lengthened the margin.
Bethel was able to get itself back into the game thanks to poor shooting at the free-throw line by the Racers. MSu went just 13-for-25 at the line in the second half, but made its final four at the stripe in the last half minute of the game. BU was also able to shoot lights-out, going 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the final stanza.
MSU ended the final 2:06 of the first half on a 10-0 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Bria Bethea and Janika Griffith-Wallace in a seven-second span jumpstarted the run. The Racers led 44-31 at the break.
Bethea led the way with 21 points in the win while grabbing eight rebounds and shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Bethea was one of four Racers to score in double figures in the game as James added 19 points and Borders chipped in with 10. Griffith-Wallace had a career-best 15 points and a team-high four assists in the win.
The Wildcats out-rebounded MSU 47-32 on the night and had a 26-20 edge in paint points. MSU scored 19 points off turnovers while BU had 16. The Racers also outscored BU 8-2 in fast break points and 12-8 in second-chance scoring.
The Racers play in their second home game in three nights Wednesday as East Tennessee State comes to “The Bank” for a 6 p.m., tip.
Kevin DeVries
