Lady Mustangs miss opportunities

MURRAY – In its first game played since Dec. 18, Murray’s rust showed as the Lady Mustangs had a chance to take down Melcher-Dallas (2-2) Monday night in a non-conference matchup.

Murray (5-4) trailed 36-35 after Jayda Chew knocked down a mid-range jumper from the corner with 24.3 seconds left in the game. On the inbound, the Lady Mustangs fouled Kynser Reed. She went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line to go up 37-35.

A jump ball on the next possession sent the ball back to Melcher-Dallas, where Haley Godfrey went 0-for-2.

After the miss, Murray took the ball down the floor as head coach Jerry Shields yelled “attack” to Chew. The referee along the near side of the court called a timeout, stopping Chew in her tracks at 11.1 seconds.

“That kind of hurts a little bit,” Shields said.

Inbounding the ball along the baseline, Kinzee Eggers had a look underneath the basket, but the ball bounced around the rim and fell back down, giving Melcher-Dallas the ball back after a defensive rebound.

“Six seconds left, we’ve got an out-of-bounds play right underneath of our basket, got a wide open layup and missed it,” Shields said.

Sluggish return to the court

Both sides started out the game slow, combining for 15 points in the first quarter.

Murray’s offense struggled to shoot the ball from the field and the free-throw line. The Lady Mustangs went 3-for-8 from the free-throw line in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter, Murray picked up the pace, finding scores from Chew and Teryn Shields.

Chew finished with 11 points. Teryn Shields scored nine points of her own.

In the second quarter, the Lady Mustangs were able to cut Melcher-Dallas’ 16-13 lead. The Saints went on a 10-0 run before Megan Keller knocked down a shot, moving the game to a 16-point tie with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.

Godfrey knocked down a buzzer-beater off the backboard as time expired to give the Saints an 18-16 lead at halftime.

As the game progressed, both sides struggled holding onto the ball throughout the game. Murray finished the game with 21 turnovers, becoming a focal point of what Jerry Shields wants to work on throughout the remaining three games this week.

“We had too many turnovers tonight and not a good enough jobs of being able to box them off the boards,” he said.

UP NEXT – Murray takes on Mormon Trail (3-3) on the road at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Melcher-Dallas 39, Murray 35

MD (39)—6 12 11 10

MUR (35)—9 7 6 13

MELCHER-DALLAS (39) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 13 9-21 39. Kynser Reed 4 1-2 12, Haley Hoch 2 4-6 8, Hlaey Godfrey 2 2-5 7, Kacey Enfield 3 0-5 6, Grace Overgaard 1 1-2 3. 3-point goals – 4 (Kynser Reed 3, Godfrey 1). Team fouls – 15. Fouled out – None.

Murray (35) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 13 10-18 35. Jayda Chew 3 5-10 11, Kinzee Eggers 3 5-6 11, Teryn Shields 4 0-0 9, Megan Keller 1 0-0 2, Hanah Paschke 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 1 (Shields). Team fouls — 20. Fouled out — Jalie Baumfalk, Megan Keller.