Second Half Pushes Panthers Over Racers

Wednesday, January 28

Charleston, Ill.

6 p.m.

Murray State

5-16 (0-8OVC)

Eastern Illinois

8-14 (5-4OVC)

Murray State

Eastern Illinois

Photo by: Sam Sheffer

1/28/2015 7:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Murray State women's basketball team fell 75-59 Wednesday night at Lantz Arena.

MSU (5-16, 0-8 OVC) came into the game with a spark that helped them make some big plays in the first half. Murray State trailed by only a basket for most of the first half. The Panthers (8-14, 5-4 OVC) had their biggest lead of seven points at the 4:01 mark. MSU took a lead for 2:23 when they went up 19-18. Both teams committed nine turnovers in the first half, but the Racers capitalized off the turnovers and made those into 14 points. MSU shot 44.0-percent in the first half, their best percentage since playing Brescia on Dec. 30 and shot 55.3-percent in the first half. Eastern Illinois went into the half with a 33-31 lead.

The spark the Racers had in the first half started a fire in the second half. Murray State took the lead right at the start of the second half. They held on to the lead, but the Panthers kept it close. Eastern Illinois took the lead back and went on a 6-0 run to take a 56-49 lead. With the entirety of the game being close, you could not count either team out as it looked like it would be decided at the buzzer. However, Eastern Illinois went on a 9-0 to give themselves a 65-54 advantage. The Panthers would not give up and won 71-57

The Racers scoring was led by Ke'Shunan James with 16 points, followed by Olivia Cunningham who added 13. James had four steals which ties her career-high and had a team-high eight rebounds. MSU committed 16 turnovers, while causing 15 turnovers. Murray State scored 20 points off of Panther turnovers, while also scoring 12 on second chance baskets.

Murray State returns home to the CFSB Center on Saturday at 5 p.m. to face UT Martin.