Belmont used a big fourth quarter to grab the lead and eventually hang on to defeat the Murray State women Wednesday night in Nashville as the Racers fell at the 70-65 at the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins (17-3, 7-0 OVC) got all they could handle from MSU (6-12, 2-5 OVC) but scored 28 points in the final fourth quarter to overtake the Racers, who had led since midway through the second quarter. MSU led 45-42 after three quarters.
MSU fought until the end as it came back late in the fourth quarter to retake the lead, 62-61 with 1:13 left to play after falling behind by eight, 59-51 with 4:53 left in the contest. However, the Bruins were able to take back the lead with a layup with under a minute to play and then salted the game away at the free-throw line with seven made freebies.
The Racers carried their biggest lead of the game heading into the break as they led 35-29 at halftime. Belmont went the final 3:09 of the second quarter without scoring. MSU shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the first two periods and went 3-of-6 from 3-point range. In the second half, the Racers shot just 28.6 percent (12-for-42) and went just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.
For the game, MSU shot 40.6 percent overall from the field and went 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range while the Bruins shot 42.6 percent and hit 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) from deep. Belmont also made five more free throws than the Racers.
The Bruins had an 11-4 advantage in second-chance points and an 8-2 edge in fast break points and 8-5 in points off turnovers. Both teams recorded 24 points in the paint.
Bria Bethea led MSU with a game-high 20 points in the loss. Bethea hit four 3-pointers on the night and also added six rebounds. Ke’Shunan James had 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting and had nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Janika Griffith-Wallace chipped in with eight, six of which came in the opening minutes of the game for the Racers.
MSU closes its two-game swing down in the Music City Saturday against Tennessee State. Tip-off with the Tigers is at 5:30 p.m.
