Murray State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Has Weekly Press Conference
1/14/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Murray State women's basketball head coach Jody Adams was unable to attend the weekly press conference due to a speaking engagement. Assistant coach Rob Cross represented the Racers at the conference.
Murray State (11-5, 5-3 OVC) won 71-68 at Southeast Missouri on Monday and 81-59 against Austin Peay on Thursday. The Racers visit Ohio Valley Conference rival UT Martin on Saturday at 4 p.m. That game can be heard locally on WNBS (1340 AM, Murray) and online at www.GoRacers.com. Video streaming is available through www.OVCsports.tv.
Excerpts from today's press conference:
Opening statement
In the last two games, we played extremely well. We played aggressively in the beginning of the game, and that's something that had been a problem in the previous couple of games, at Eastern Illinois and at home against Tennessee State.
We got off to good starts, and the big key to that has been Shaleea Petty and Alaina Lee's energy to start the game -- both offensively and defensively. They have been aggressive, looking for their shots, and when they do that, we're tough to guard, because both are capable of scoring. Shaleea had a big game, got off 15 shots at SEMO, scored in double-figures (14 points on 5-for-10 shooting inside the arc), and did a good job in leading us.
Another bright spot to us has been Angela Brown. If you can say that somebody had a huge game with only four points, her game at SEMO was a huge game for somebody who only had four points. We're really proud of her. She just stepped up and started demanding the ball. We ran a play to her late in the SEMO game when things tightened up, and she turned around and missed the shot, and as the point guard was bringing the ball down the floor immediately after that, she was calling the same play again. She demanded the ball, we threw it in there and she turned around and scored a big basket that gave us a little bit of separation and chance to win that game in regulation.
On Angela Brown's defensive play of late:
At this point, there are no excuses. Early in the year, we said that she hadn't played in a year-and-a-half, and so on. She actually did a great defensive job in the first half of the SEMO game and, really, in the Austin Peay game, although Janay Armstrong (this week's OVC Newcomer of the Week)came off the bench and scored 18 points. Angela did what we asked her to do. Janay Armstrong is a load, and made some tough shots over Angela, so she's gotten better in that regard. She really controlled the game defensively in the first half in the paint at SEMO. She's gotten much more aggressive here in the last couple of weeks.
About the time off from the previous game (Jan. 10) to the next game (Jan. 19):
We took two days off this weekend; we took Friday and Saturday off to rest. We've got several student-athletes who played a lot of minutes, so we tried to give them a little bit of a break. We (the coaches) hit the road recruiting. The big thing right now is getting back to business as usual with practices. We practiced at 5:30 this morning: got them up early, ready to go, had a spirited practice. We had a good practice yesterday, and now, we're starting to get ready to go into the final stretch of conference games. This nine-day layoff can be a great thing, because we've got a chance to tinker with a few things, change a few things, fix a couple of problems, or because we've been playing well, it could be a bad thing. Everybody in the league has a long layoff at some point, and if you're playing well, you'd like to be able to continue playing games. If you're struggling, you thank the good Lord for that break or (OVC commissioner) Jon Steinbrecher (laughs). I think that right now, we're just ready to get going and play again.
On "which" UT Martin team MSU expects to see: the one that opened the season at 0-5 in OVC play or the one that beat OVC leader Eastern Illinois last week:
Honestly, Martin is a very dangerous team. They are basically the same team that we played last year in the OVC Tournament semifinals, and I can promise you one thing: their players remember that.
You go inside, Phyllisha Mitchell and Crystal Fuller are beasts inside on the boards; both average over nine rebounds a game, and they're going to draw fouls. That's how they beat Eastern Illinois. They went to the free-throw line 32 times and hit 31 of them. Hopefully, we don't see that free-throw-shooting team! (Laughs) Hopefully, we do a good job of keeping them off the line. They are a very aggressive team, and we'll have to match that aggression.
Ever since Tara Tansil has been coaching there, Martin changes their defenses; they run a lot of defenses. We expect to see some 1-3-1, some 2-3, some man, and they'll change them up a lot. We've got to work on recognizing the defense quickly and going into our offense to counteract that defense that they have set up. They are a team that does not foul. They lead the nation in fewest fouls per game. They do a great job of staying between the ball and the basket and contesting shots without fouling. Obviously, that's been a big part of our offense, getting to the free-throw line, so something has to give Saturday, and that's going to be a big key to the game.
On Ashley Hayes' play of late:
Ashley just has to play off of her instincts more than trying to think. The last couple of games, she's been trying to "think" the game a little too much. She's a great player -- we believe one of the most talented players in the conference, without question. She just has to go out and play and not think too much. We're trying to simplify things for her: "If you're open, shoot the ball," "If they come up on you, go by them," and that's basically it. Simplify things, slow down, if you're open, take the shot.
On Angela Brown's progress since joining the team:
She's getting there. The game has started to slow down for her. We have a lot of other offensive weapons, so we don't just throw it into her all the time, but you saw how she did against Austin Peay. When we go to her consistently, she's going to score. I think that she's very excited. She sees the end of her college career coming down the line, and she would love to get back to the NCAA Tournament and go out with a bang.
On how often the coaches want Angela Brown to get to the line:
It's tough because we run so many things to get other people shots. She is not the focal point of our offense. She needs to get to the line. She needs to be more aggressive going to the rim. She's working on it. We would definitely like to see her get some three-point plays.
On the play of Amber Guffey:
I told Amber Thursday night after the Austin Peay game that the last two ball games have been the best back-to-back complete games she's played since she's been here. Defensively, she's done a fine job in the last couple of games. Offensively, two turnovers in more than 30 minutes in each game. She's shooting the ball extremely well from the three-point line and getting to the basket.
I can't say enough about her growth as a player, looking to score the ball. How many people would have believed last year before Joi Scott got hurt that Amber Guffey would average over 20 points a game? They may have thought she would average 10 assists per game. We're very proud of her growth.
Last Week's Numbers (two games played)
Amber Guffey: 44 points (22.0 ppg), 9 rebounds (4.5 rpg), FG: 14-for-23 (.609), 3FG: 9-for-15 (.600), FT: 7-for-8 (.875), 8 assists (4.0 apg), 32.5 minutes per game, 4.00 assists per turnover -- OVC Player of the Week nominee, finished second to EIU's Rachel Galligan.
Ashley Hayes: 33 points (16.5 ppg), 9 rebounds (4.5 rpg), FT: 8-for-9 (.889), 2FG: 11-for-23 (..478),
Shaleea Petty: 20 points (10.0 ppg), 17 rebounds (8.5 rpg), 12 defensive rebounds (6.0 drpg), 11 assists (5.5 apg), 5 steals (2.5 spg), 2.75 assists per turnover.
Angela Brown: 18 points (9.0 ppg), 11 rebounds (5.5 rpg), FG: 8-for-16 (.500), 4 blocked shots (2.0 bspg) -- OVC Newcomer of the Week nominee, finished third to APSU's Janay Armstrong.
Murray State: 76.0 ppg, FG: 58-131 (.443), 3FG: 15-for-35 (.429), FT: 21-for-26 (.808), 9.5 turnovers per game (1.74 assists per turnover), 4.5 blocked shots per game.
Opponents: 63.5 ppg, FG: 46-for-116 (.397), 3FG: 7-for-22 (.318), 16.5 turnovers per game.
This Week's Schedule
Murray State Racers (11-5, 5-3 OVC) at UT Martin Skyhawks (4-13, 1-6 OVC; UT Martin plays at Austin Peay on Thursday)
Saturday, Jan. 19, 4:00 p.m., Skyhawk Arena
