SUNDAY’S SCORES
Duke 78, Murray State 57
DUKE 78, MURRAY STATE 57
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Murray State women's basketball team was able to reduce a 15-point first-half deficit to five points in its NCAA Tournament game against No. 9 Duke, but a 17-2 run by the Blue Devils keep the Racers at bay, as MSU fell 78-57.
Murray State (24-8) missed on its first seven shots from the field, all good looks at the basket that rimmed out. Duke (24-9) took advantage, pushing out to a 6-0 lead. The Racers' first score of the game was a three-pointer from Amber Guffey that trimmed the lead to 6-3 with 16:07 left in the first half, and the Racers were able to squeeze the difference down to one when Guffey nailed another trey to pull MSU to within 9-8 with 15:07 left.
The Blue Devils then went on a run, scoring the next 13 points to vault out to a 22-8 lead. Duke was able to keep the lead in double-digits, taking a 35-23 lead at halftime.
Murray State opened the second half on a 9-2 run, pulling to within 37-32, but Duke went on a 17-2 run to keep the Racers at arm's length.
Ashley Hayes had a game-high 26 points, going 8-for-20 from the field (6-for-12 from three-point range) and pulling down five rebounds. Guffey had nine points and a team-high four assists, while Angela Brown had a team-high six rebounds and Shaleea Petty had a game-high three steals.
Duke was led by Wanisha SMith's 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field. Chante Black added 14 points on 7-for-14 shooting to go with seven rebounds, while Jasmine Thomas had 13 points and game-highs with nine rebounds and six assists. Joy Cheek had seven rebounds and three assists, while Keturah Jackson had five rebounds and Carrem Gay had three assists.