Comeback Falls Short at Tennessee State

Saturday, January 16

Nashville, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

Murray State

(6-10, 2-3OVC)

Tennessee State

(9-9, 4-1OVC)

Murray State

Tennessee State Lady Tigers

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

1/16/2016 8:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Cold shooting and a slow start offensively in the first half cost Murray State Saturday night at Tennessee State as the Racers fell to TSU 69-58 at the Gentry Center in Nashville. TSU scored the first 15 points of the contest as the Racers started the game missing their first nine shots.

MSU (6-10, 2-3 OVC) shot just 29.4 percent in the first two quarters of the contest while the Lady Tigers (9-9, 4-1 OVC) shot 42.5 percent from the floor in the first half. For the game, the Racers shot 31.3 percent and TSU shot 40 percent. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc as the Racers went just 6-of-25 and the Lady Tigers were 5-for-23.

The Racers battled back in the second half after trailing 39-25 at halftime. MSU opened the third quarter on a 22-7 run and took a brief 47-46 lead with two minutes left to play in the period on a Ke'Shunan James layup. TSU closed on a 7-0 run led 53-47 heading into the final frame.

MSU hung around in the fourth but couldn't get over the hump, as 57-54 with 6:19 left to play in the game was as close as it would get. The Racers went on a costly, near-five-minute stretch without scoring a point in the quarter and went just 1-of-10 shooting during the closing minutes of the contest. TSU was able to salt the game away down the stretch at the free-throw line.

TSU out-rebounded the Racers 46-44 in the game and had a 13-8 edge on second-chance points. Both teams collected 14 offensive boards. The Lady Tigers also had a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint. Both teams had eight fast break points with the MSU bench scoring 17 to TSU's four.

Jashae Lee led the Racers offensively with 15 points and added six rebounds and four steals. LeAsia Wright chipped in with 12 points and Ajee Smith scored a season-high eight in the game. Kyra Gulledge and Ke'Shunan James led the team with seven rebounds each.

The Racers close their current three-game road trip Jan. 20 when they travel to Richmond to face Eastern Kentucky at 6 p.m.