Murray State University Athletics
Lady Racers Return Home To Host Tennessee State Thursday Night
2/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
After earning an important road win over Tennessee-Martin on Tuesday night, the Murray State Lady Racers return home to host Tennessee State on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center in the first of three-straight home games to close out the regular-season.
MSU (10-14, 6-7 OVC) enters the game with TSU (1-21, 0-12 OVC) alone in seventh place in the OVC standings, just one half-game behind sixth-place Morehead State. For the Lady Racers, Thursday's game is the next step in their quest for a strong push to the OVC Tournament, set to begin on March 2.
"I was pleased with the way our team responded against Tennessee-Martin, and the way we battled for that win," said first-year MSU head coach Joi Williams. "I wasn't particularly happy with our execution at times, but we found a way to win, and that's so important right now. Now we've got to stay focused on the job in front of us, and that's Tennessee State.
"I fully expect another tough game with them tomorrow night. We didn't play a complete game against them the first time around, and we almost paid for it. I expect our players to be ready for this one."
In the earlier meeting between MSU and TSU, the Lady Racers used a dominant five minutes of overtime to escape Nashville with a 10-point (68-58) win despite squandering a 13-point second half lead. Williams knows the Lady Tigers will be looking forward to this game after nearly upsetting MSU on Jan. 24.
"I expect TSU to really come after us because they were so close to beating us at their place," Williams said. "But I also expect our players to be prepared for that same reason. I expect us to come out with great focus and great energy because this is a very important game for us. We can't afford to have any lapses in our focus or our execution at this point in the season."
The MSU Sports Network's live broadcast of the game against Tennessee State can be heard by Clicking Here.
SERIES INFORMATION
-- Murray State vs. Tennessee State
This is the 36th meeting between Murray State and Tennessee State with the Lady Racers holding a 20-15 advantage...MSU has won seven of the last eight meetings in the series, including a 68-58 win on Jan. 24 in Nashville...The Lady Racers hold an 11-6 lead in games played in Murray.
OVC LEADERS: Entering Thursday's action, MSU senior guard Jenny Bowden ranks No. 1 in the OVC in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio at 2.14, while senior guard Megan Fuqua is second in the conference in three-point shooting percentage at 40.6 percent (56-of-138) and second in three-pointers made at 2.43 per game.
