Women's Basketball 11/1/2023 10:40:00 PM

Lady Aggies victorious in Levine debut

Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
TISHOMINGO – Freshman point guard Arissa Garcia canned four early three pointers and finished with a double-double to spur 21^st ranked Murray State to a 78-56 season-opening win over the Southwestern Christian University JV on Wednesday night inside Beames Fieldhouse.

Garcia tallied a game-high 18 points, with 14 coming in the opening half, as Murray State scorched the nets for 7 of 12 shooting from long range to start the contest. The 5-foot-6 dynamo dished out 10 assists to lead the charge as four Lady Aggies reached double figures.

"We haven't shot that well in any of our preseason contests, but this was our first home action and the girls came out hot in front of a great crowd," said head coach Nate Levine, who came out victorious in his Murray State debut. "Our best unit is our starting big group and they give a lot of effort on the boards, and once again had a bunch of offensive rebounds tonight. That just gives us a lot of second chance opportunities.

"Garcia just played a great game. She hit some early threes and then later in the game started finding people for easy shots. And she's still not making all the reads I need her to make, so we are still a work in progress. It was a great way to start the season though."

Murray State held just a 20-15 edge after one period before an 8-0 burst by the hosts to start the second stanza bookended by Tierra Williams and Garcia treys extended the margin to double figures and the Lady Eagles never got any closer.

It was still only a 37-24 cushion for Murray State at intermission when Garcia went fully to work in distribution, posting four consecutive assists to fuel a 16-2 flurry that began the third quarter. The Lady Aggies never looked back from there.

In total, Levine's club sank 13 three-pointers for the contest and dominated on the offensive glass behind the inside combination and length of Ongolea Afa, Sosefina Langi, Tierra Williams and Cristina Laudan.

Afa poured in 16 points, Langi tallied 13 and Williams posted 11. The Lady Aggies also got eight points from Olivia Quapaw, Khalayah Willis had five, Mireia Cosas scored four and Laudan finished with three.

The Lady Aggies continue their opening three-game homestand on Homecoming Friday with a 5:30 p.m. outing against Jacksonville College.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Cristina Laudan: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#24 Sosefina Langi: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

#2 Olivia Quapaw: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#5 Arissa Garcia: G; 5' 6"; Freshman

#12 Khalayah Willis: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#1 Tierra Williams: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#22 Cristina Laudan
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F

#24 Sosefina Langi
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

#2 Olivia Quapaw
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#5 Arissa Garcia
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: G

#12 Khalayah Willis
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Tierra Williams
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F