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MURRAY – An athletic and undefeated Murray Lady Mustangs team jumped out to a 14-2 lead over Lenox after a quarter of play and never looked back Tuesday night.
Murray (6-0) mustered up 25 points in the first half behind multiple buckets from four different players, before pulling out the victory 41-20.
Bre Klein, Zadie Hatfield, Kayla Wookey and Kendra Boles all hit at least two buckets from the floor before jumping out to a 25-7 lead at the halftime intermission.
Klein finished with a game-high 10 points while Hatfield and Wookey each contributed nine points apiece. Boles finished with six points, all of which came in the first half.
Lenox put together defensive stops in the second half – holding the Lady Mustangs to just 15 points – but struggled on the opposite end with looks in the paint.
“We played pretty good defense,” said Lenox head coach Clay Nelson. “We were 7 of 32 in the paint. Got to make shots.”
Lenox freshman McKinna Hogan led the team in scoring with seven points, followed up by Jessica Anderson’s six.
Murray head coach Jerry Shields was impressed with his teams ability to keep the Tigers off the scoresheet.
On the other hand, Shields wished his team would have been able to be more effective against Lenox’s zone defense.
“Right now we are struggling a little bit against the zone. We tend to make one pass and stand and hold the ball and let the zone react, instead of moving it quick,” said Shields.
Murray was able to get some buckets in transition, which Shields admits is part of his offensive philosophy.
The Lady Mustangs attacked the Tigers’ press and in some cases were able to put up layups with just a few passes.
The Tigers have faced a gauntlet of tough, top-end defenses early this season and Nelson admitted that his team is still figuring out its shooting inside.
“We’ve had kind of a run of really good defenses and I think they’ve got in a bad habit of not squaring up on shots and being a little timid at the rim,” said Nelson. “So we got to get over that.”
UP NEXT – Both teams still face tests before the winter break. Murray (6-0) hosts Melcher-Dallas tonight (Friday) in a contest that Shields expects to have another good defensive outing.
“I think they’re only averaging about 20-something points per game. So, defensively that’s what our No. 1 aspect is; being able to shut them down and try to hold them under 25 points,” said Shields.
Lenox travels to Southeast Warren tonight (Friday) in hopes for its second win of this young season. Nelson said the Tigers’ keys will be making the most of the opportunities they missed against Murray.
“If we show up and play hard like we did tonight, but make our shots,” said Nelson.
Murray’s contest tips off at 6 p.m. while Lenox will start at 6:15 p.m.
Murray (41) – 14 25 35 41
Lenox (20) – 2 7 12 20
Murray (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 17 6-16 41. Bre Klein 4 2-4 10, Zadie Hatfield 4 1-3 9, Kayla Wookey 4 0-2 9, Kendra Boles 3 0-0 6, Ally Waske 2 1-2 5, Britta Callstrom 0 2-4 2. 3-point goals – 1 (Wookey 1).
Lenox (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 8 4-11 20. McKinna Hogan 2 3-3 7, Jessica Anderson 3 0-4 6, TJ Stoaks 1 1-2 3, Niki Sparks 1 0-0 2, Lauren Christensen 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals – 0. Fouls – 18. Fouled out – Stoaks.