Racers Battle To 75-70 Victory Over Colorado State

Saturday, November 29

Fort Collins, Colo.

8 p.m.

Murray State

Colorado State

11/29/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Senior Amber Guffey had a great night for the Murray State women's basketball team in their 75-70 come-from-behind victory over Colorado State in the third-place game of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo. Amber Guffey tallied 36 points, just one shy of her career high. The Albany, Ky., native earned Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational All-Tournament Team honors for her 52 points in the two games of the tournament.

“What I am most proud of is how our players battled,” said head coach Rob Cross. “They battled through some adversity when they got down early and came back to win.”

The Racers (3-3, 0-0 Ohio Valley Conference) also saw strong performances from freshman Kayla Lowe and senior Paige Guffey. Lowe recorded career highs with eight points, five rebounds, and two three-pointers. Paige Guffey added 14 points and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

“Amber carried us in the first half without question,” Cross said. “Kayla Lowe also stepped up and played some big minutes for us with her eight points and five rebounds.”

It was another tough defensive battle for the Racers, as neither team scored a field goal until the Ram's Carine Reimink hit a jumper with 16:50 remaining on the clock. CSU had earned the first point of the game on a free-throw with 18:54 remaining. MSU got on the board with 16:35 left in the half on a jumper from Amber Guffey. The Racers then took their first lead of the game (6-3) with 15:12 remaining on a four-point play by Amber Guffey, who was fouled on a three-point shot. The Rams then tied the game at eight and went up 13-8 with an 8-0 run from 13:53 to 11:23 with neither team scoring for two minutes during the span.

With the score knotted at 18 and a little over nine minutes remaining on the clock CSU started a 13-0 run over a 3:30 span to take a 31-18 advantage on the scoreboard. MSU then got back into the game with a 14-8 run over the final six minutes of the game to cut the lead to seven at the half, 32-39.

Both teams returned to the floor in the second half ready to shoot, as both went on three or four-point runs in the opening two minutes and then traded buckets which allowed the Rams to hold on to a seven or five-point advantage. CSU then built its lead out to 10 with a 9-0 run from the 15 minute mark until 12:21 remaining on the clock when Paige Guffey hit a lay-up and earned a free-throw on the play.

With just under 11:30 left on the clock MSU started to a 14-4 run that cut the lead to two with 7:30 remaining. The Rams quickly built the lead back out to six with a bucket and two free throws before a shot from beyond the arc and two free throws on the next two possessions by Paige Guffey cut the advantage to one with 6:16 left in the game and a jumper from her sister Amber gave MSU the lead (69-68). The Racers also turned up the defense at the same time holding CSU without a field goal for the final 9:58 of the game, while only allowing the Rams to earn two points at the free-throw line. MSU went on a 13-2 run during the span to earn the 75-70 victory.

After shooting just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play, the Racers shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30) in the second half. The tables were reversed for the Rams as they shots 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half and then shot just 29.0 percent (9-of-31) in the last 20 minutes. CSU earned an advantage on the boards, with 43 to MSU's 28.

The Racers will remain on the road next week when they open the 2008-09 OVC schedule with a Thursday, Dec. 4 against Eastern Kentucky at 4:30 p.m. and a Saturday, Dec. 6 match-up with Morehead State at 1 p.m.

“We have seen a variety of teams in our non-conference schedule so far this year,” said Cross. “The teams have had drastically different styles and that is going to prepare us for conference.”

Notes: Amber Guffey tallied 21 of the Racers' 32 points in the opening stanza, just four away from her season high of 25...Lowe had a career-high in the points and rebounds column at the end of the first half, with five points and four rebounds...this was MSU's first road victory on the season.

Quotes
Head Coach Rob Cross
“We are very effective and a good offensive team, but our defense was great tonight. To win a ball game like this in a tournament against the host school was huge for our team.”

“It was a good effort by all the players and I am very pleased with the overall effort.”