Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Trailing by as many as 10 points in the opening half, the Murray State Lady Aggies rallied in the middle two stanzas and then held on for a 75-71 conference triumph over Redlands Community College Thursday night inside Beames Fieldhouse.

Although it was ugly at times, Coach Nate Levine's squad upped its winning streak to eight heading toward Monday night's home showdown with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for sole possession of first place in the Region 2 standings. Murray State is now 15-2 on the season and 5-0 in league play.

"We didn't play smart at times, and it wasn't pretty, but we made plays when we needed to," Levine commented. "We are going to need to play much better on Monday."

Redlands came out inspired and held the advantage throughout the opening stanza, including 25-22 at the horn. The Lady Cougars pumped in seven straight points to start the second frame and appeared to be taking command when Murray State found a spark from an unexpected source.

Freshman Taja Bennett drilled a three pointer to spark a 9-0 Lady Aggie flurry and the hosts scored 19 of the final 26 points of the half for a 41-39 edge at intermission.

The hosts pumped in the initial six points of the third period as well, a 23-10 scoring spree that made it a comfortable 15-point cushion heading to the fourth.

That comfort proved to be short lived as Redlands closed to within one point and had chances for the lead before a pair of Mya Cotto free throws with 22 seconds left. Mireia Casas then hit one of two at the charity stripe at the eight-second mark to cap the game's scoring.

Arissa Garcia scored at least three points in every quarter to finish with a team-leading 18 points, pacing four Lady Aggies in double digits.

Ongolea Afu had 12 while Casas checked in with 11 and Cotto also notched 11. Jordyn McNeal posted eight, Keshani Gordon added seven, Olivia Quapaw contributed five and Bennett rounded things out with her three.