BOX SCORE

MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team orchestrated a second-half rally, but could not overcome a 15-point halftime deficit in a 76-62 loss to Murray State Tuesday night at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
 
Redshirt sophomore Khristian Hart scored all of her career-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Purple Aces (2-2) offensively, shooting 8-for-21 from the field and hitting five of her 12 attempts from behind the three-point line.  Seniors Meagan Collins and Samantha Heck also scored in double figures on the night, as Collins tallied 13 points and recorded a team-high four assists, while Heck dropped in 11 points and pulled down seven boards.
 
Murray State’s Mariah Robinson led all scorers with 31 points, going 8-for-25 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.  Erica Burgess added 21 points for the Racers and Kelsey Dirks finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Murray State controlled much of the first half after taking a 10-6 lead courtesy of an 8-2 run heading into the first media timeout.  Mariah Robinson sparked the run with a three-pointer and a layup, and Erika Sisk knocked down a three from the left wing to cap the MSU rally.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Juliann Miller and Chelsea Falkenstein ended the Racers’ run and pulled the Aces within three at 14-11 with 10:28 remaining in the opening half, but Murray State quickly responded by outscoring UE 17-5 the rest of the stanza, including holding Evansville without a field goal for over seven minutes.
 
The Racers held the Aces to just a 22.2 percent shooting clip in the first half, as Evansville connected on just six of its 27 shots and hit just one of 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
 
MSU ended the half on a 13-2 run and took a 31-16 advantage into the locker room.
 
After scoring just 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, UE poured in 11 points before the first media timeout of the second half to cut the Murray State advantage to 38-27.  Hart scored on a driving layup and knocked down her first three of the night, Heck added a pair of interior buckets and Collins banked in a layup to combine for Evansville’s 11 tallies.
 
The Aces cut Murray State’s lead to seven on a Hart trey with 11:19 remaining and once again got within seven at the 10:35 mark, when Kat Taylor hit a pair of free throws to make the score 53-46, but would get no closer, as the Racers pulled away in the second half for the 76-62 victory.
 
Evansville outshot Murray State over the final 20 minutes, hitting 16 of its 30 second-half shots, but MSU capitalized on the free throw line, burying 24 of its 27 tries in the closing period.
 
The Racers pulled down 50 rebounds to UE’s 35 and scored 14 points on 17 offensive boards.  The Aces did win the battle in the paint, 32-20, but the Racers converted 18 Evansville turnovers into 19 points, while the Aces scored only 11 on 17 MSU turnovers.
 
The Aces will look to get back in the win column Sunday, Nov. 24, when they travel to Wisconsin to take on their second Big Ten opponent this season.  Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.