Box Score

MURRAY, Ky. – In a must-win game, head coach Chrissy Roberts asked her team before the game to ‘battle’ for 40 minutes. Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team did just that, but fell to the Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion Murray State, 80-60, on Saturday. EKU had to win in order to earn a spot in the league tournament.

The Lady Colonels (7-20, 4-14 OVC) trailed by 10 points twice before rallying to tie the game early in the second half. Eastern was down by only six with 3:36 left in the game but the Racers (21-7, 16-2 OVC) made 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the closing minutes.

Freshman Kayla Drake led EKU with 27 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Cherie White contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Amber Guffey posted a team-high 21 points, five rebounds and five assists for Murray State. Ashley Hayes finished with 19 points and eight boards.

MSU shot 60 percent in the second half and 49.1 percent for the game. EKU made 36.5 percent of its shots.

After tying the game at 9-9, Eastern went over six minutes without scoring. Murray State scored eight unanswered to build a 17-9 lead. The Racers stretched their run to 13-3 on a three and a lay-up by Hayes that put MSU ahead by 10, 22-12, with 6:20 remaining in the first half.

The three-pointer kept the Lady Colonels within striking distance for much of the first half. Five if their first seven field goals were from behind the arc. EKU cut the deficit to four twice before Ilona Muszak’s three-pointer at the 2:12 mark made it a three-point game, 26-23.

However, Eastern Kentucky did not score again as Murray State ended the first half on a 7-0 run and carried a 10-point lead into the locker room.

Hayes scored 13 of MSU’s first half points. Drake had 13 at the break for the Lady Colonels.

Eastern Kentucky came out of the locker room and opened the second half with 10 unanswered points to tie the game. Drake scored six of the 10. Nadia Mossong’s driving lay-up knotted the score at 33-33 with 16:18 left to play.

After a bucket by White made it a 36-35 game in favor of the Racers, Murray State went on a 13-2 run to go back on top by double digits. A pair of free throws by Paige Guffey with 12:27 remaining in the game gave MSU a 12-point advantage, 49-37.

Hayes did not make a second half field goal until the 5:30 mark.

EKU drew within seven three times before back-to-back lay-ups by White made it a six-point game, 63-57, with 3:36 to go.