Lions Open NJCAA Women’s Tournament With Win Over Murray State
The Wallace State women's basketball team opened the 2025 NJCAA Women's National Tournament with a 62-46 win over Murray State College (OK).
"I was so proud of our team for the toughness and grit they played with throughout the game. I think once our nerves calmed down, we were able to settle in on offense and our defense was able to control the game," coach Joseph Simmons said. "To hold Murray State to 46 points, when they average 80 per game, shows how focused our team was on their assignments and making it difficult on them to score. We are excited to move on to the Sweet 16, and to continue our season."
It took almost two minutes for someone to score as defenses dominated the early going. Murray State got on the board first to take a 2-0 lead with 8:04 remaining in the quarter. Wallace State tied the game with 6:39 remaining when Kameron Sanders hit two free throws.
The Lions first lead came with 6:02 left in the first when Kallie Tinker hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Idaysia Mercer. After a Murray State 3-pointer to take a 7-5 lead, Sinaya Gibson hit a layup off a feed from Mercer to tie the game at 7-7. After a Murray State layup, giving them a 9-7 lead, Mercer hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Sanders to give the Lions a 10-9 lead with 3:39 remaining.
After another Murray State 3-pointer, giving them a 12-10 lead, Gibson hit a layup to tie the game at 12-12 with 1:48 left in the first. Sanders hit a free throw with 1:04 left to give Wallace a 13-12 lead. Murray State closed the quarter with a layup to take a 14-13 lead into the second quarter.
The teams continued to battle back-and-forth over the first five minutes of the second quarter with the score deadlocked at 18-18.
The Lions broke open the tight game with an 11-2 run over the final 4:22 of the first half. 3-pointers from Mercer and Sanders helped to fuel the run. Wallace outscored Murray State 16-6 in the second quarter to take a 29-20 lead into halftime.
The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the third quarter with the Lions holding a 38-26 advantage following a Sanders layup with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter. After Murray State cut the Wallace State lead to 38-30, the Lions closed the quarter with a 10-3 run to take a 48-33 lead into the final quarter.
Wallace State took their largest lead of the game with 4:51 remaining when Mercer hit a layup to give the Lions a 56-35 lead. The closest that Murray State would get the rest of the game was 13 points at 59-46 with 1:23 remaining. Gibson closed out the scoring with a layup with 13 seconds remaining to give Wallace the 62-46 win.
Wallace State shot 44% for the game, including 36.8% from three, while holding Murray State to 34.8% from the field and 31.6% from 3. The Lions outrebounded Murray State 32-22, while forcing 13 Murray State turnovers. Wallace outscored Murray State 28-16 in the paint.
Sanders led Wallace State (29-4) with 20 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Mercer added 17 points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal, while Gibson had 13 points and four rebounds. Tinker finished with nine points, two rebounds and a steal, while Nylaa Fuller had three points, a game-high 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Up Next
The Lions will meet the Northwest Florida State College Raiders in the second round on Thursday at 5:45 pm. The Raiders are the #3 seed with a record of 28-3.