MURRAY, Ky. – A second period letdown proved to be the difference Saturday as Murray State defeated SIUE women's basketball 87-73 at the CFSB Center.

Murray State improved to 16-7 overall and 8-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference while SIUE dropped to 9-13 overall and 5-6 in the OVC. The Cougars will be back at home Monday for a 5:30 p.m. makeup contest against Eastern Illinois.

SIUE was better or even with Murray State in three of four periods, but a 27-10 outburst before halftime lifted the Racers.

"I was really proud of our fight though," said SIUE Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith. "We could have laid over and gave up, but we didn't."

The Cougars fell behind by as many as 24 in the fourth period but halved the lead in the final minutes of the contest.

"Defensively, we weren't our best selves in that second quarter," said Smith. "We didn't do a great job of rebounding. I think the rebounding battle really killed us."

The Racers won the battle of the boards 45-27.

Gabby Nikitinaite led the Cougars in scoring with 19 points and fellow starter Mikayla Kinnard scored 14. Jaida Hampton posted a season-best 17 on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

"She (Hampton) was aggressive coming off the bench and was giving us a lift on the offensive end," said Smith.

Alexis Burpo and Macey Turley led Murray State in scoring with 20 points each. Katelyn Young added a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds as Murray State shot 50.9 percent from the field as a team (27-53).

SIUE shot 41.2 percent (28-68) and connected on 3 of 15 from three-point range. The Cougars did score 26 points off the Racers' 24 turnovers.

With the quick turnaround for Monday's game, the Cougars will be looking for their first win in February.

"You got have to come ready to play," Smith said.