Gulledge and Racers Power Past Eastern Illinois

Wednesday, January 27

CFSB Center

6 p.m.

Murray State

7-12 (3-5OVC)

Eastern Illinois

1-20 (0-9OVC)

Eastern Illinois

Murray State

Photo by: Donnie Paschall

1/27/2016 8:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Murray State women's basketball team used a strong fourth quarter and stingy defense to defeat Eastern Illinois, 66-56 Wednesday evening at the CFSB Center. The Racers outscored EIU 18-10 in the final period of play.

Leading by just two, 48-46 heading into the final quarter, the Racers (7-13, 3-5 OVC) opened the fourth on a 9-2 run and opened a 57-48 lead with 6:05 left to play in the game. MSU was also able to hit seven free throws the final 2:37 of the contest and went 19-for-28 (68 percent) for the game.

The Racers forced EIU (1-20, 0-9 OVC) into 24 turnovers and 38.8 percent shooting for the game. The Panthers were able to hang around in the contest by going 7-for-16 from 3-point range and 11-of-12 (92 percent) from the free-throw line. The Racers were able lead the game wire-to-wire.

Kyra Gulledge led MSU with a career-high 17 points in the game on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Gulledge was also a rebound shy of a double-double as she grabbed a team-high nine boards in the win. Ke'Shunan James added 17 points of her own, 11 of which came in the second half and also had four assists and five steals. Jashae Lee added nine points, while Bianca Babic and Abria Gulledge scored eight and six, respectively off the bench. The Racers' bench outscored EIU's 18-12 in the contest. Both Gulledge and Lee added six rebounds and two steals each.

MSU dominated inside, outscoring the Panthers 32-14 in the paint and also had an 11-5 edge in second-chance points. The Racers also had a big 21-9 edge on points off of turnovers. The Racers had a 29-23 lead at halftime. EIU made things closer to begin the third period as the Panthers made their first seven shots of the second half.

Head Coach Rob Cross earned his 100^th career victory with the win. Cross becomes the first coach in program history to reach triple figure wins.

The Racers return to action this weekend as they travel to UT Martin to face the Skyhawks in a noon contest Saturday.