Young, Poock lead Racers past Lady Bears
WBB: Murray State beat Missouri State, 78-67, to win their fourth-straight
Murray State beat Missouri State, 78-67, Thursday night at the CFSB Center. Here’s what you need to know:
With the win, the Racers improve to 19-7 overall and 13-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Racers now trail Missouri State by one game for 1st place in the conference with three games to play.
Senior forward Katelyn Young scored 27 points to lead Murray State. It’s the 25th time in Young’s career she’s scored at least 27 points in a game.
With her fourth rebound of the night, Young became the program’s all-time leading rebounder. She’s already the schools all-time leading scorer.
Sophomore guard Halli Poock scored 15 of her 26 points in the first half.
Senior forward Ava Learn grabbed 12 rebounds. This is the 12th time this season Learn has recorded double-figure rebounds in a game.
Sophomore guard Haven Ford had 12 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Missouri State’s Lacy Stokes had 25 points, four rebounds and four assists to pace the Lady Bears.
Murray State finished the game 23-for-23 from the free throw line. In records dating back to 2002-03, this is the most free throws the Racers have made in a game without a miss.
The Racers, in their final home game of the regular season, will host Southern Illinois on Saturday.
Young’s late surge helps push Racers past finish line
Ava Learn’s three-pointer with 7:22 remaining put Murray State on top, 61-48, and the Racers appeared ready to win comfortably.
Missouri State had other ideas.
The Lady Bears used a 14-2 run to cut the Racer lead down to one with 3:50 to go. That’s when Katelyn Young put together one of the most impactful sequences of her career. The senior forward scored nine points, going 4-for-4 from the field, over the next three minutes to help Murray State close the game on a 15-5 run and snap Missouri State’s six-game winning streak.
“Basketball is a game of runs, and we talk about it all the time,” Young said. “They're going to go on run, but when we get in that time out, we're going to stop that run and we're going to start going on one. I think it just resets everyone's mindset of, ‘We got this. Lock in on defense and start scoring.’”
“Kate and I had a conversation with about five minutes to go,” Murray State Head Coach Rechelle Turner said. “It was just she and I a little bit away from the huddle. I said, ‘This is your moment. This is what you're built for. This is what this is about. This is a ‘Player of the Year’ moment for you. We're going to go to you and you're going to take care of it. We're going to continue to go to you and you're going to make the right play.’ Eleven points later, she puts us on her back and takes us to victory. That's who she is. She's not afraid of it. She's playing her best basketball at the end here, but that's what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to go to those kids and you just challenge them.”
Another milestone for KTG
With seven rebounds on the night, Young now has 1,174 boards in her career, passing Murray State Hall of Famer Jackie Mounts (1,170 career rebounds) for #1 on the program’s all-time rebounding list. Young became the school’s all-time leading scorer last season in the Racers’ NIT game at Southern Miss. While she’ll be remembered most for her scoring, the rebounding shows how complete of a player Young has become.
“On nights like this, in the first (half where) I'm not really going to score that much, I need to find ways to impact the game on the defensive end, on rebounding,” Young said. “Whatever I can really do, just focusing on that type of stuff.”
With her 27 points against Missouri State, Young now has 2,869 career points — good for 24th on the Division I all-time scoring list. She also picked up two assists against the Lady Bears, giving her 301 for her career.
Poock carried the Racers early
While Murray State struggled to find their offensive footing in the first half, Halli Poock was there to pick up the slack for the Racers. The sophomore guard scored 15 of Murray State’s 31 first half points, and finished with 26 for the game. It was the most points in a contest for Poock since December 7th when she scored 30 against Austin Peay.
“She was unbelievable,” Turner said. “Lots of swag about her tonight. (She) made some big shots, put the ball on the floor, made some moves, got downhill — just the Halli that we expect. It was great to see that because we know she's capable of that every single night. I know how she's a sophomore, but let me finish my thought here. Freshman year for kids is very difficult. (Murray State sophomore) Haven Ford asked me (last year) three or four times why I recruited her. She struggled so much, but then look at her now. This is Halli’s freshman year here, freshman year in this system. For her to thrive as much as she is, because we didn't have the luxury of having her last year and her getting used to this pace and getting used to playing with other great players and those things. To see Halli’s progression, I think it’s even more amazing that she's been able to do it so quickly. She was big-time tonight.”
Murray State stays in the hunt for a conference title
With three games left in the regular season, Murray State is one game out of first place. Having a chance to win a conference title wouldn’t have been possible without beating Missouri State. The win also means the Racers have beaten every team in the league this season, and that accomplishment was not lost on Turner.
“The pregame speech was about moments,” Turner said. “A basketball season is made up of a lot of moments, but this was the biggest moment that we had had. Every player in the locker room and every coach understood we had to win this game to give ourselves a chance to win a conference championship. We need a little help and we’ve got to go finish. We’ve got three games, two on the road, which are not going to be easy. (Senior Day on) Saturday is going to be uber-emotional for a lot of us, especially me, and so we've got to find a way to maintain our composure and get the job done. But to be in year three in this league, and to have heard a lot of people tell us we only beat the teams we're supposed to, I think this team made a statement this year that we beat everybody in the league at least once. The level this program has risen to is all about these players and the work and the belief and the relentless effort that they continue to play with. My assistant coaches do an amazing job with these scouts, an amazing job keeping these kids’ heads on straight, and do a great job of keeping me in line. This program is where it is today because of everybody that plays a role on a daily basis. I couldn't be more proud of what they accomplished tonight.”
Senior Day in on Saturday
Murray State will play their final home game of the regular season on Saturday when they host Southern Illinois at 2:00pm. Senior Day festivities will take place before the game, as the Racer program will honor Ava Learn, Jenna Walker, Trinity White and Katelyn Young. Make sure you’re in your seat early to help celebrate this year’s senior class.