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Murray State women beat Evansville 91-70 to win MVC Tournament, claim spot in NCAA Tournament

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Halli Poock scored 33 points, Shamecce Currie-Jelks added a double-double and top seed Murray State beat Evansville 91-70 on Sunday to win a second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Racers (31-3) head to the main event on a 15-game winning streak under coach Rechelle Turner, who is in her ninth season. Murray State’s only previous appearance before winning back-to-back championships came in 2008.

Poock made 12 of 19 shots from the floor, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Currie-Jelks finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.

Haven Ford hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 for Murray State, and Keslyn Secrist added 12 points.

Mireia Mustaros scored 16 off the bench to lead the 10th-seeded Purple Aces (10-25), who dispatched second-seeded Belmont in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Illinois State in the semifinals. Sydney Huber and Breaunna Ward scored 15 apiece. Camryn Runner scored 12.

Ford and Poock sank 3-pointers and Murray State used a 13-0 run to take a 16-4 lead in the first 5:15. Poock hit another 3 and had 13 points by the end of the quarter for a 21-10 advantage.

Currie-Jelks had the first two baskets and Ford followed with a 3-pointer as Murray State used a 7-0 run to up its advantage to 28-10 less than two minutes into the second period. The lead was 46-27 at halftime.

Murray State outscored the Purple Aces 24-17 in the third quarter to make it 70-44.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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