Racers Edged by UT Martin

Saturday, February 28

Martin, Tenn.

4 p.m.

Murray State

8-21 (3-13OVC)

UT Martin

20-9 (16-0OVC)

Murray State

UT Martin

2/28/2015 8:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Murray State women's basketball team was unable to pull off the upset and UT Martin finished their conference season undefeated with a 87-74 win at Martin, Tennessee. MSU is 22-26 in the last game of the regular season. UT Martin is the sixth women's team to finish conference play undefeated, with the last time coming during the 2002-03 season.

The Racers (8-21, 3-13 OVC) were off to a hot start in Martin, Tennessee. The Racers knocked down three three-pointers in the first eight minutes to give them a 13-7 lead over conference leader UT Martin (20-9, 16-0). MSU continued to get shots to fall, but fell victim to foul trouble. The Skyhawks were able to take a 14-13 lead after making both free-throws. After that moment, UT Martin took momentum and went on a 14-0 run to take a 21-15 lead.

However, the Racers came back and made big stops to trail only 21-20. The final minutes of the first half was a back and forth game of the lead. UT Martin took a buzzer shot to take a 39-37 lead going into halftime. Murray State shot 39.3-percent from the floor, while holding UT Martin to 30.8-percent.

The Skyhawks came into the second half with a fire to finish their conference season undefeated. They went on a 15-6 run to take a 54-43 lead, which was the biggest lead of game. Murray State tried to chip away at the Skyhawks lead, but was unable to gain enough momentum to change their fate. UT Martin continued to create a sizeable gap in the lead that the Racers just couldn't tighten. The Skyhawks took their 16^th conference win for an undefeated conference season.

Keiona Kirby scored a team-high 25 points, while Ke'Shunan James added 14. James led the team with eight rebounds, while the team had 35. Ajee Smith dished out five assists and James had three steals. The Racers shot 39.3-percent on the game, just a small percentage lower than UT Martin's 40.9-percent.