The Murray State women’s basketball needed a last second shot to beat Evansville last season, no such heroics were needed Tuesday night, as the Racers toppled the Purple Aces, 84-61, in their home opener at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Freshman Hannah McKay led five Racers in double figures on the night, as Murray State dominated the game for nearly all four quarters. Tuesday’s win showed the Racers were a much improved team over last season’s squad that averaged just 66.7 points per game and allowed 74.7. The win also showed that Murray State’s bench was much deeper than last year’s as the Racers reserves scored 33 points Tuesday and are currently averaging 21.5 points per game compared to just 11.6 last season.
McKay came off the bench to lead the Racers with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line. She was not the only one solid at the charity stripe Tuesday, with Murray State finishing the game at 10-for-14, a marked improvement over its 10-for-17 performance in the season opener at Kentucky. Lex Mayes sank four 3-pointers to follow McKay with 12 points, while Macey Turley and Laci Hawthorne also each had 12 points and Manna Mensah had 10.
After out-rebounding Kentucky in their last game, the Racers once again crashed the boards to out-rebound Evansville, 47-37. Hawthorne led Murray State on the glass with nine, while Katelyn Young and Mensah followed with eight and seven, respectively.
The Racers will look to make it two in a row Friday when they travel to Terre Haute to take on Indiana State at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
– SHOES UP –
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Parker Griffith