31 for #31 as Racers pull away from Aces
WBB: Katelyn Young goes over 30 points for the 14th time in her career in the win
Murray State beat Evansville, 88-60, Thursday night at the Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Here’s what you need to know:
With the win, the Racers improve to 21-7 overall and 15-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Murray State is one win away from clinching at least a share of their first Missouri Valley championship.
Katelyn Young scored 31 points, on 13-of-16 shooting, to lead the Racers.
Halli Poock had 17 points, while Ava Learn, Haven Ford and Briley Pena all scored 11 for the Racers.
The Racers outrebounded the Purple Aces 43-21.
Poock and Ford combined for 13 assists against just four turnovers.
After 21 wins, the Racers need one more to make history
With Thursday’svictory, Murray State remains tied with Missouri State for the conference lead with one game to play. If the Racers are able to win at Indiana State on Saturday, regardless of how Missouri State fares at home against Bradley, they will win at least a share of their first Missouri Valley Conference title. Murray State’s last conference championship came back in 2009 as part of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Young hits another milestone
Just because she had her jersey retired last Saturday doesn’t mean Katelyn Young is ready to slow down just yet.
The senior forward scored 31 points, making 13-of-16 shots, to pace the Racers. It was the 14th time in her career she has scored at least 30 points in a game. Young also moved into the Top 20 on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list. With 2,919 career points, Young is now tied for 19th with former Penn State standout Kelly Mazzante.
On a night where the Racers struggled from the outside, Young helped the Racers score 48 points in the paint to dominate the Aces.
Pena lifts the Racers from the outside
With Murray State having so much success on the inside, the outside shooting wasn’t as nearly as big of a priority. The Racers tied a season-low making five three-pointers, while attempting only 21 — which was also tied for the fewest three-point attempts in a game this year.
While her teammates may have combined to go 2-for-18 from beyond the arc, Briley Pena did not share in those struggles. The junior guard was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep, to finish the night with 11 points. How important is Pena making threes? When she has knocked down at least three in a game this year, the Racers are 7-0.
We Over Me
So far this year, the Racers are assisting on 59.5% of their made baskets. Thursday against Evansville, that number jumped to 75.0%, as Murray State dished out helpers on 24 of their 32 made baskets. The 24 assists are one shy of a season-high, as they had 25 earlier this season at Southern Illinois and at home against Western Carolina. Halli Poock led the team with seven assists, while Haven Ford was right behind her with six.
One last stop in Terre Haute
Murray State will play their final regular season game of the year at Indiana State. The Racers won the previous meeting, 97-71, back in January in Murray. This time they’ll play in Terre Haute at 1:00pm on Saturday.