Murphy's Career-High Leads The Cougars In Win Over IU Northwest

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CHICAGO - Sophomore Layne Murphy (Country Club Hills, Ill./Rich Central) scored a career-high 16 points as the Chicago State Cougars defeated the Indiana Northwest RedHawks 68-50 at the Jones Convocation Center on Wednesday (Jan. 8).

It was the fourth straight game in which Murphy has scored at least ten points. Junior Tierra Williams (Detroit, Mich./Lathrup) had her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Junior Chanel Wilson-Stewart (Hillside, Ill./St. Joseph's) pitched in 11 points for her sixth double-digit game of the season.

Sophomore Jasmine Sanders (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest) notched a career-high with seven steals while freshman Konner Harris (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) also set a career mark with nine points.

It was a banner day for the Cougars as they set season-highs in field goals (27) and steals (18). They also tied a season-high with 13 assists led by junior Tierra Williams (Detroit, Mich./Lathrup)' career-high five dimes.

The Cougars jumped on the RedHawks early scoring 11 of the first 15 points of the game. They continued to extend their lead when Harris' hit a three-pointer to make it 25-12 at the 9:18 mark. Harris has hit a three-pointer in 14 straight games.

Chicago State would lead by as many as 19 in the first half before heading into halftime with a 40-25 advantage. They created 21 Indiana Northwest turnovers and had four players score at least seven points in the first stanza.

CSU went on a 19-7 run to put the game away in the second half. The RedHawks were held to just 21.4 percent shooting (6 of 28) in the final 20 minutes. Murphy scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in the second stanza.

Angela Jackson noted Murphy's stellar play of late, "She's been absolutely great," said the 11-year head coach. "What you've seen from Layne these last four games is exactly what we thought we would get from her."

The Cougars improve to 3-12 on the season and have wrapped up non-conference play. Indiana Northwest falls to 9-6. Chicago State begins a three game Western Athletic Conference road trip with Kansas City on Saturday (Jan. 11). Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.