Bench lifts Murray past Orient-Macksburg

Sophomore Deena Snyder scored 10 straight points during a stretch that spanned the first quarter into the second quarter, keeping the Mustangs in the ballgame.

Fittingly, with Orient-Macksburg still hanging around in the closing minutes of the ballgame, it was Snyder’s two baskets at the end that sealed the win for Murray, now 7-2 for the season.

“The girls played a good game tonight,” Orient-Macksburg head coach Kelli Goodale said. “They worked hard out there and did a good job of forcing some turnovers on defense.”

Snyder finished with a game-high 18 points off the bench.

After the two teams entered the second quarter tied at 11-11, the Mustangs held a 25-20 advantage at the half.

Orient-Macksburg, now 0-10 for the season, opened the second half with Morgan James making a layup after a backdoor cut and Shyla Waldhauser hit 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to 25-23.

Moments later, after a Snyder basket made the score 31-25 in favor of Murray, Orient-Macksburg went on a 6-0 run to tie the game up at 31.

James hit a jumper from the wing, followed by a turnaround jumper from the baseline by Chandy Waldhauser. James capped the run with a steal that led to a layup for two of her team-high 13 points.

But, Murray junior Kate Patton knocked down a big 3-pointer from the corner on the ensuing Mustang possession, and Madison Gonseth hit a jumper to give Murray a 36-31 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter on a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 38-36, but left several points on the board, shooting just 3-of-6 from the free throw line during that stretch.

After a Courtney Siefkas basket put Murray up 40-36, Gabby Jenkins knocked down two free throws to cut the lead to two points once again.

But, a Patton layup off a backdoor cut, followed by a Cheyanne Ashby basket quickly stretched the lead back to six.

One free throw from Tara Guion and two more free throws by Jenkins brought the Bulldogs back to within three at 44-41, but that was a close as Orient-Macksburg could get the rest of the way.