Murray State University Athletics
Racers Visit Lady Govs
1/30/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nothing is ever an "automatic," especially in sports. You can't determine an outcome by the numbers. It's not about what is on the paper; it's how you play the game. Just ask UT Martin, whose sole Ohio Valley Conference win thus far was on the road -- at first-place Eastern Illinois. Although Murray State and Austin Peay appear to be on opposite ends of the OVC standings, nothing is certain about their match-up in Clarksville on Thursday until the final buzzer sounds.
Murray State (13-6, 7-4 OVC) beat Austin Peay 81-59 in their previous meeting this season on Jan. 10 in Murray, and the Lady Govs (5-14, 2-8 OVC) are battling through issues with the injury bug, but although APSU has lost 11 of its last 12 games, MSU head coach Jody Adams has a lot of respect for Thursday's opponent, especially playing on its home court.
"Going to their place and playing a team that really wants to beat somebody at home -- they want to protect their home court," she said. "They got one here recently (against UT Martin on Jan. 17). They are a scrappy team; they are a tough team. They're not going to lay down. No one at this point is going to lay down because we're Murray State. It goes back to us. I think our focus has to be on us and the changes that we have to make as a team and as individuals."
Murray State is coming off of a tough game of its own, an 81-74 loss to Southeast Missouri last Saturday at the Regional Special Events Center. In that game, the Racers had a 15-point lead in the first half, only to see the Redhawks outscore them 48-19 over an 18-minute period that spanned both halves. MSU was out-rebounded in the game by 20, 48-28.
In Murray State's last meeting with Austin Peay, the Racers were led by Amber Guffey, who scored a game-high 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field and had six rebounds and five assists. Ashley Hayes added 20 points and seven boards, while Angela Brown had 14 points, five rebounds and a co-game-high three blocked shots. Shaleea Petty had team-highs with eight rebounds and six assists.
Austin Peay was paced by newcomer Janay Armstrong, who has played in nine games to date. She scored 18 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Against MSU, she came in off the bench. Now, she is a starter.
"She's a player like Missy Whitney (of Southeast Missouri)," Adams said. "You can't guard her with one; it's going to be team defense. We're going to have to provide help on Janay Armstrong, like we tried to do on the interior with SEMO. She's a great player. She puts up a lot of points; in the amount of minutes that she plays, she's very productive. She'll be a tough one for us; hopefully, we'll be ready for the battle."
The Racers held the Lady Gov starters to 22 points, but expect to see a different lineup on Thursday, including Armstrong, who leads APSU with 11.0 points per game to go with 6.1 rebounds per contest. Ashley Herring, who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in the previous meeting, averages 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Ashlee McGee averages 8.8 points and 4.8 assists per game, and is a threat from outside, hitting 40.5 percent from behind the arc.
Murray State's tandem of Amber Guffey and Ashley Hayes continues to shine for the Racers, ranked fourth this week among Division I combos, with a combined 38.0 points per game. Guffey is hitting 90.3 percent from the line, where she has been above 90 percent all season, and now ranks fourth in the nation from the line. She also averages 19.8 points (ranking 15th in the nation) and 4.8 assists per game. Hayes averages 9.1 rebounds per contest, ranking third in the OVC and 43rd in the nation, and is shooting 45.7 percent from the floor.
Alaina Lee has brought her average up to 9.9 points per game after scoring a career-high-tying 17 points against SEMO, while Shaleea Petty averages 9.2 ppg, 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She also leads the OVC with a 2.30 assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking eighth in the nation.
This game begins a stretch in which the Racers play four of the next five games on the road, and Murray State hopes to take Saturday's loss and learn from it on Thursday and in the games to come.
RACER GAME CENTRAL
Murray State Racers (13-6, 7-4 OVC) at Austin Peay Lady Govs (5-14, 2-8 OVC)
Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:15 p.m. || Dave Aaron Arena at The Dunn Center, Clarksville, Tenn.
GAME-DAY INFORMATION
Radio: WFGE (103.7 FM / Josh Perigo)
Listen Live: www.GoRacers.com
Live Stats: Click Here
Video Streaming: www.OVCsports.tv
Game Notes: Click Here
Series History: Begun with a 45-23 Murray State win in Murray on Feb. 21, 1930, the series has seen the Racers take a 39-34 lead. Before MSU won the meeting earlier this season, the Lady Govs had won three of the previous four meetings. Average scoring in the series is MSU 68.0, APSU 65.9. In Clarksville, Austin Peay holds a 23-13 advantage. The Racers' 64-63 win in Clarksville last season snapped a six-game win streak by the Lady Govs in the Dunn Center. Average scoring at Austin Peay is APSU 68.3, MSU 65.1.
New Coaches: This is Murray State head coach Jody Adams' first visit to Clarksville, as she is in her first year with the Racers. APSU head coach Carrie Daniels is in her second season in Clarksville.
Next Up For The Racers: Murray State comes back home to take on Jacksonville State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the RSEC.
Time Change: Murray State's game at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 28 will begin at 8 p.m., following the men's game, which will be televised by ESPN-U.
OVC STANDINGS (OVC / All)
(through Jan. 30)
Eastern Illinois (10-2 / 11-9)
Southeast Missouri (9-2 / 14-6)
Samford (8-3 / 15-6)
MURRAY STATE (7-4 / 13-6)
Tennessee State (6-5 / 9-11)
Eastern Kentucky (5-5 / 10-7)
Jacksonville State (6-6 / 9-12)
Morehead State (5-7 / 7-13)
Austin Peay (2-8 / 5-14)
Tennessee Tech (2-9 / 3-18)
UT Martin (1-10 / 4-17)
THURSDAY IN THE OVC
Murray State at Austin Peay, 5:15 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at Jacksonville State, 5:30 p.m.
Samford at Tennessee State, 5:30 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at UT Martin, 5:30 p.m.
