EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Katelyn Young scored 34 points to help power Murray State to its first Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship by beating Belmont 83-62 on Sunday.
Young surpassed 3,000 career points and passed Cheryl Miller into 15th place on the all-time NCAA Division I scoring list.
Young scored 23 points in the first half, 16 in the second quarter, and Hallie Poock added 15 as the Racers build a 45-29 lead at the break. Belmont climbed back into the game and after Poock picked up her fourth personal foul with 3:34 left in the third, the Bruins went on an 8-2 run to get within 51-48 with under two minutes left. The Racers closed the quarter on a 6-0 run and led by nine to start the fourth quarter.
Murray State’s supporting cast scored just nine points through the first three quarters, but that changed in the final 10 minutes., Briley Pena knocked down a 3 to push the lead to 63-52 and Ava Learn hit from 3 to make it 66-54. Young and Poock each hit from 3 to push the lead to 79-58 with 3:01 left.
Young hit 13 of 18 from the floor and 4 of 6 from 3 while dishing seven assists to lead the Racers (25-7). Poock was 6 of 11 from distance and added 22 points and Haven Ford pulled down 12 rebounds and dished nine assists and Learn added 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Kendal Cheesman led Belmont (22-12) with 18 points and grabbed seven boards.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
