The Murray State women’s basketball team’s season came to a close Friday as they fell 75-73 in a heartbreaker to top-seeded Illinois State at the Hoops In The Heartland 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK in Moline, Illinois.
Murray State led by one at the end of the first quarter and were tied with the Redbirds at halftime. However, Illinois State surged ahead to begin the second half and led by 11 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, the Racers clawed their way back and tied the game at 73 with 51 seconds remaining. Despite the rally, the Redbirds sank two free throws with 30 seconds left in the contest to seal the win and advance to the semifinals.
The game was evenly matched the whole way through with Murray State shooting 48% and Illinois State shooting 49.1%, both teams committing just eight turnovers and the Redbirds out-rebounding the Racers by only four, 31-27. Illinois State edged the Racers in points off of turnover, 8-7, while both teams scored 30 points in the paint.
Katelyn Young led all scorers in the game with 26, while Hannah McKay followed with 19. In their final game as Racers, Macey Turley scored 10, with Alexis Burpo scoring four.
McKay led Murray State in assists and rebounds at five and seven, respectively, while Young was next in line with five rebounds and four assists.
The Murray State Racers finish their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference at 15-16 overall.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.