Continuing a challenging stretch of road games Friday evening in Murray, Ky., the Valpo women's basketball team led host Murray State after the opening quarter before the Racers pulled away for an 82-45 victory.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo opened the game on a 7-0 run, as Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) had back-to-back inside baskets on the Beacons' first two possessions of the game and Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) hit from deep 3:28 into the contest.
• Buoyed by the opening run, the Beacons led throughout the opening period as they held Murray State to 4-of-21 shooting from the floor over the opening 10 minutes.
• Consecutive baskets from Katie Beyer (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) and a Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) layup pushed Valpo's lead back to seven points with less than a minute to play in the period, but MSU's Briley Pena hit a 3-pointer seconds later to cut the Beacons' advantage to 13-9 at the end of one.
• Jackson answered a Racer 3-pointer to open the second quarter with a triple of her own, and after five straight points for Murray State gave MSU its first lead, Gold came up with a steal and fast-break layup to make it 18-17 Beacons with six minutes to play in the half.
• Murray State ended the half on a 21-5 run, including the final nine points of the quarter, to take a 38-23 lead into the locker room.
• A drive and finish from Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) just over a minute into the third quarter was the first points for either team, bringing the Beacons back within 13. But the Racers scored the next eight in a row on their way to leading 64-36 with 10 minutes to play.

 
Inside the Game

• The matchup continued a tough stretch of road contests for the Beacons — the third of fourth in an 11-day span. Friday's game came against a Murray State team ranked 69^th in the NET, making it the second of three Quad One games for Valpo over two weekends.
• Valpo shot just 29.6% (16-of-54) from the field Friday and was just 4-for-24 (16.7%) from 3-point range — both marks the team's worst of the season.
• On the defensive end, the Beacons held the Racers to 35.9% shooting — the second-lowest shooting percentage of the year by a Valpo D-I opponent. But Murray State was 28-of-78 from the field, earning 24 more field goal attempts as it gathered 28 offensive rebounds and scored 24 second-chance points.
• Valpo committed 23 turnovers, but did force 19 Murray State miscues as well. However, the Racers finished with a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Jackson paced the Beacons with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and pulled down five rebounds as well.
• Gold joined Jackson in double figures as she hit 5-of-9 from the field for 11 points.

 
Next Up
Valpo (5-10, 1-3 MVC) concludes this weekend of road play Sunday afternoon at Belmont. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.