The Murray State women’s basketball team defended their home court with a 64-56 win over rival Belmont at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Murray State led for all but 58 seconds of the game and never led by less than nine points in the second half. The 18-point margin of victory in the game also represented the Racers’ largest lead of the night.
For just the eighth time in program history, the Racers shot a perfect 100-percent from the free throw line in a game, on 10 or more attempts. Macey Turley sank two with under a minute left to help her team reach the milestone, marking the second time in the Rechelle Turner era that MSU has accomplished the feat.
The victory marked the 650th win in program history and was the 200th win at the CFSB Center, in addition to ending a seven-game skid against the Bruins in Murray and four-game slide to Belmont overall. Katelyn Young continued to make baskets at a high percentage, going 8-for-13 for a game-high 20 points on the night. She also grabbed five rebounds, two steals and an assist in the win. Alexis Burpo and Hannah McKay led Murray State’s rebounding efforts with eight each to go along with 10 points by Burpo and nine by McKay.
One key to the win on Wednesday for the Racers was committing a season-low five fouls in the contest. Murray State entered the contest eighth in the nation in fouls committed per game at 12.8, an average which dropped to 12.3 after the win over Belmont.
The win was crucial for the Racers in the race for the MVC championship, and the team will now move on to the next game, Murray State continues its four-game homestand Sunday when it welcomes Bradley to the CFSB Center for a 2 p.m. matinee. With the squad will bring in a new motivation and try to keep the winning spirit alive.
