Murray State University Athletics
Lady Racers hope to continue the momentum against EKU
1/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers opened their Ohio Valley Conference schedule on Thursday night, winning a close 80-75 contest against Morehead State. Now, the Lady Racers will look to going undefeated through the first week of conference play when they welcome the Eastern Kentucky Lady Colonels on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center.
The Lady Racers (5-7, 1-0 OVC) held off a late comeback by the Lady Eagles of Morehead State, but 84-percent shooting from the free-throw line (including 17-of-20 in the second half) held off the Lady Eagles' comeback.
The Lady Racers were led in scoring by two freshmen, with Shaleea Petty leading all scorers with 19 points, and Katie Willinger had 13 points to go along with a co-game-high eight rebounds in her first career start.
On the season, two other Lady Racers are the only players to average double-digit scoring figures. Senior guard Rebecca Remington leads the team with 15.9 points per game, while sophomore guard Ashley Hayes averages 12.1 points per game. Hayes and Willinger share the team lead in rebounds, both averaging 4.4 a game, while Petty dishes out 4.3 assists a game to lead the Lady Racers in that category.
The Lady Colonels (6-6, 1-0 OVC) also were involved in a close one in their OVC opener, holding off Tennessee-Martin 68-67. Senior forward Miranda Eckerle hit a game-winning shot with 4.5 seconds left to seal the victory for the Lady Colonels. Along with that shot, Eckerle, who had team-highs of 15 points and six rebounds, became the 17th player in Eastern Kentucky history to reach 1,000 career points.
Eckerle is averaging a team-high 12.3 points per game, followed by senior center Pam Garrett (10.8 points per game) and junior guard Laura Shelton (10.7 points per game). Senior forward Candis Cook (10 points in the Tennessee-Martin game) and freshman guard Ashley Cazee (11 points) fall just short of double-digits in scoring on the season, averaging 9.7 and 9.3 points a game, respectively. Cook leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 6.1 a game, while Shelton leads the team in assists, handing out 4.0 a game.
The teams split last year's series, with Eastern Kentucky winning in Richmond 75-74 and the Lady Racers winning big in Murray 81-56.
