Murray State
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Bethel
Five Score In Double-Figures In Women's Basketball Win
11/13/2007 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Five Racers scored in double-figures as the Murray State women's basketball team got head coach Jody Adams her first career win with a 91-62 decision over visiting Bethel (Tenn.). Eleven Racers got on the scoreboard, as Murray State (1-1) led for almost the entire game.
A 22-7 MSU run in the middle of the first half to help keep the game under control, while a 17-1 second-half run left no doubt about the outcome.
Junior guard Amber Guffey led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. She also had a co-team-high four assists to go with four defensive rebounds. Senior center Angela Brown added 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor to go with five rebounds. Junior guard/forward Ashley Hayes had 12 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and a game-high nine rebounds (seven on the defensive end), while senior guard Shaleea Petty also had 12 points, going 5-for-9 from the field to go with four defensive rebounds, two blocked shots and a game-high five steals. Junior guard Paige Guffey put in 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting behind the arc.
Freshman guard Mallory Luckett also had a co-team-high four assists to go with fuor steals, while senior guard/forward Gerraca Matthews had three steals.
Bethel (2-2) was led by Whitney Baird's 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field and a co-team-high six rebounds (five from the defensive end). She also handed out three assists. Erin Meyer added 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting and a co-team-high six rebounds (four on the offensive end) and four assists, while Teena Carter put in 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field to go with five rebounds. Nina Djokovic had nine points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists, while Tristan Johnson had three assists and two steals.
"I thought we started the game the way I asked them to," Adams said. "There was pressure in their passing lanes. I can't say we finished that way. In our philosophy, we talk about winning seven of 10 rounds, and I challenged our team in the second half to win all five rounds. I thought we got a little lax defensively and offensively. We met our deflection goal, which is 30 -- we had 31. On forced turnovers, we put a goal of 25, and we forced 22. Defensively, we wanted to out-board them by 12, and we missed that one (MSU out-rebounded Bethel by nine).
"Alaina Lee and Shaleea Petty were two bright spots tonight. They are our engine; they are our starters. If we can get 11 other people to keep it running, we'd be pretty tough. I'm not asking somebody to play that type of defense, but be smart and play within our philosophy, play within what their capabilities are.
"It was a nice win," Adams said of notching her first career victory. "You have to give it to the players; they're the ones who are out there. I didn't really think of it as a 'first win.' It's kind of an expectation. This was a ball game, and I always want to win!"
Murray State will host Alabama State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Regional Special Events Center.
