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RICHMOND, Ky. – In the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams, it was the Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team that prevailed in an 86-72 shootout over Murray State Monday night in McBrayer Arena. The Lady Colonels have now won four straight games overall.

EKU (7-5, 1-0 OVC) shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor, its third best shooting night of the season. Four Lady Colonels reached double figures in the point column led by senior Marie Carpenter's 23 tallies. Carpenter has reached the 20-point plateau eight times this fall, including four times in the last five games.

Sophomore Shelly Harper (15 points), freshman Michaela Hunter (13) and senior Pilar Walker (10) gave Eastern a balanced scoring attack. Hunter's 13 points marked a season high while Walker equaled a personal best with six assists.

Keiona Kirby paced Murray State (7-6, 0-1) with 21 points. Meanwhile, Jessica Winfrey recorded her fifth double-double of the year thanks to posting 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Eastern Kentucky scored 46 points in the opening half, the most it has scored against a Division I opponent in 2013-14, on the way to taking a 46-38 lead into intermission.

A Hunter three-pointer from the left corner gave EKU its largest lead of the game with 15:33 remaining, 63-49.

However, the Racers rallied with a 14-2 run, keyed by three-pointers from Kirby and Taylor Porter, to close the gap to just two points, 65-63.

Harper put an end to the threat with a lay-up with 10:16 left to make the score, 67-63.

From there, Eastern Kentucky's defense stepped up a notch and held Murray State to only three field goals the rest of the game. Carpenter's lone three-pointer with 6:13 on the clock put the Lady Colonels back up by double-digits, 75-65. Murray State did not get any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

With the win, EKU improves to 5-1 in OVC openers under sixth-year head coach Chrissy Roberts.

Eastern Kentucky is on the road for five of its next six games, all OVC contests, beginning with a trip to SIUE this Saturday, Jan. 4. Game time is set for 5 p.m. ET.