Murray State University Athletics
Lady Racers Host Tennessee State
2/15/2007 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers will close out its current three-game homestand against Tennessee State tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. in the Regional Special Events Center.
With a win, the Lady Racers (16-7, 12-4 OVC) will not only move back into a tie for first place with Southeast Missouri State, but MSU will also clinch hosting a first-round game in the O'Reilly OVC Championship Tournament, as the Lady Racers would not be able to finish below fourth place in the standings. The top four seeds host Seeds 5 through 8 in the first round of the conference tournament on Feb. 27.
Murray State faces a stiff challenge from Tennessee State (7-19, 4-13 OVC) in that the Lady Tigers crash the offensive boards with a passion, leading the league in offensive rebounds. TSU also leads the conference in steals, providing the Lady Racers with a challenge on its possessions as well.
"The last two games out, we've done a very good job in the rebounding area," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We've made improvements with that. We've got to do that especially against Tennessee State. That's a critical area we really need to focus on. That will be a point of emphasis for us, as well as our half-court defense.
"The things that we are concerned with for this game are making sure we can get back in transition defense, making sure we take care of the ball and making sure we rebound. (TSU) has done a very good job in their last few games of getting steals and getting their hands on the ball. We've got to be smart. We've got to execute our offense, and we can't let their defensive pressure bother us. We've got to stay focused, and we've got to take care of the basketball."
Tipoff for tonight's game is set for 7 p.m. The game can be heard locally on WNBS (1340 AM, Murray) or worldwide through www.GoRacers.com, which also features Live Stats during the game. Video streaming is available through www.OVCsports.TV.
