The Murray State women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a slow start Thursday night at Jacksonville State as the Racers fell to the Gamecocks 97-65 at Mathews Coliseum. JSU outscored the Racers 28-9 in the first quarter.
JSU (10-6, 4-1 OVC) entered the contest as the lowest scoring team in the OVC but on Thursday, the Gamecocks shot nearly 55 percent from the floor, hit nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high in points. The Racers (5-11, 1-4 OVC) shot 41.2 percent overall and hit five 3-pointers.
The Racers trailed 48-26 at halftime and 69-46 after three. The Gamecocks outscored MSU 16-7 in points off turnovers and 48-34 in points in the paint.
Ke’Shunan James led all scorers with 29 points in the game. James shot 12-of-24 from the field and added six boards and four assists. Brianna Crane added 13 on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds while Jasmine Borders had 11 points and hit a trio of 3-pointers.
MSU returns to action Saturday as its four-game road trip is just getting started. The Racers face Tennessee Tech at 5:30 Saturday night.
Kevin DeVries
