(EVANSVILLE, In.) – Murray State survived a scare from Southern Indiana on Saturday, holding on for a 79-77 victory in the season opener for both teams. With :01.9 seconds remaining in the game, the Racers drew up a front court sideline play that allowed Haven Ford a shot at the buzzer and she banked it in to give the Racers the road win.
The Racers improved to 1-0 overall while Southern Indiana dropped to 1-1 on the young season.
Murray State built its victory on balanced scoring and clutch free-throw shooting. The Racers connected on 30 of 34 attempts from the charity stripe, finishing at an impressive 88.2 percent. That proved to be the difference in the tight two-point contest.
Offensive Leaders Shine
Keslyn Secrist paced Murray State with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and a perfect 3-of-4 performance at the free-throw line. She also added seven rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks added 11 points, while Briley Pena chipped in 10 points to give the Racers three double-figure scorers.
For Southern Indiana, Ali Saunders led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. Sophia Loden contributed 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the losing effort.
Back-and-Forth Battle
The game featured six ties and five lead changes, with neither team able to pull away. Southern Indiana dominated the paint with 44 points compared to Murray State’s 28, but the Racers countered with 22 fast-break points.
Murray State shot 42.3 percent from the field (22-of-52) and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-19). Southern Indiana posted nearly identical numbers at 42.1 percent overall and 26.3 percent from three-point range.
The difference came at the free-throw line, where Murray State’s 30 made free throws dwarfed Southern Indiana’s eight makes on 13 attempts.
