The SIU Women’s Basketball team fell short against Murray State 83-69 on February 19.

SIU, who was wearing black and pink jerseys as a part of their annual Black Out Cancer game, were unable to contain the Racers Katelyn Young, who finished with 31 points on 14-22 shooting.

The Salukis’ Ashley Jones had 26 points of her own, but the press employed by Murray State wore out SIU.

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The Dawgs nearly matched Murray State point for point in the first quarter, ending the quarter down only 16-15. Though SIU didn’t score for the opening four minutes of the game, they came on strong on a couple of layups from Promise Taylor, who exploited the weak interior of the zone defense Murray State was running.

SIU was pounding the paint, with Taylor, who finished with nine points, routinely taking on double teams. Unfortunately, the Salukis struggled to hit the open shots, shooting only 32% on threes and 39.4% from the floor as opposed to 36.4% and 53.4% for Murray State.

The Racers, powered by their star forward Young, came alive in the second quarter, pouring in 23 points as opposed to only 7 for SIU, who appeared to be getting tired because of Murray State’s full court press. The Dawgs missed 10 shots and had 5 turnovers in an ugly quarter that seemed to put the game out of reach.

Coach Kelly Bond-White must have pushed the right buttons in the locker room over halftime; the Salukis exploded for 34 points in the third period, outscoring Murray State by 13 points in the quarter.

Laniah Randle and Quierra Love both had a big impact in the third quarter. Randle had 2 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds, and would finish the game with 10 rebounds. Love would have 4 assists and 5 points in the quarter, and finished the game with 10 points.

SIU also began running their own press, helping to slow down the Racers and force four turnovers in the third quarter alone.

The momentum would carry over into the beginning of the fourth quarter, and SIU would draw within 4 points of Murray State. Ultimately, the Salukis ended up running out of gas. The Racers held SIU scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter and went up by six points, where the margin sat for the majority of the quarter. Murray State eventually pulled out to a 14 point lead, leading to a final score of 83-69.

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Sports Reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]

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