Murray State University Athletics
Racers Head to Ohio to Face Miami For Final Game of 2008
12/20/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team returns to the road for the final non-conference game of the 2008-09 campaign when they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 19 at Millett Hall.
About Miami
The battle on the hardwood will be the first outing for the Redhawks since Dec. 13, as they have had the week off for finals. Miami is 6-3 on the season after falling to Butler in Oxford, 86-81 in overtime, in its last game. The extra stanza battle was the second straight for the Redhawks, after they battled to a 69-66 OT win at Dayton Dec. 10.
The Racers are the second Ohio Valley Conference team that Miami will face this season. The Redhawks opened the 2008-09 season with a 74-82 loss at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 14).
Miami has three players averaging ten-or-more points this season. Jenna Schone leads the team with 16.7 points per game, while Courtney Reed adds 11.2, and Jaclyn Leninger is netting 10.8 points per game.
Schone is a strong shooter from all areas of the court and takes most of the Redhawks shots. She has connected on 51 of her 136 shot attempts this year (37.5%), including 22-of-56 (39.3%) from beyond the arc. Schone is also leading the team in assists (42) and steals (20). However she has also committed the most turnovers (35) and fouled out of one game this season.
Ashleigh Brown and Maggie Boyer are also key threats for Miami. Brown is averaging 6.1 points per game as a forward, but is shooting 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the floor. Boyer has a 45.1 shooting percentage (23-of-51) and a 48.4 percent mark (15-of-31) from three-point range.
As a team the Redhawks are having a good year shooting. Miami is averaging 41.6 percent (234-of-563) overall and 38.2 percent (55-of-144) from beyond the arc. Only five of the 12 players who have earned minutes on the court are shooting under 40 percent on the season, with two of those five having attempted less than five shots.
Fouls and free throws are going to be a key factor in the game for both teams. The Racers will look to capitalize on their nation-leading free throw percentage because Miami is averaging 20.7 fouls per game. In fact the Redhawks opponents have made 140 free throws, while Miami has attempted just 138 on the season.
MSU will look to push its scoring output in the first half of play, as the Redhawks are garnering 50 more points in the second 20-minutes of action, while allowing their opponents to get just 33 more.
Against the Redhawks
In last season's battle in the RSEC, senior Ashley Hayes led the Racer returners with 23 points and nine rebounds against Miami. Senior Amber Guffey also tallied a double-digit point total with 15.
Stephanie Ford and Jenna Schone are the top returners for the Redhawks. Ford and Schone each garnered 16 points, while Ford added six boards.
The key to the victory for MSU came at the charity stripe. The Racers connected on 23 of their 30 attempts, while Miami made 14 of their 18. The nine extra points that MSU earned at the free-throw line account for the nine point difference in the score (81-72). Both teams had similar shooting percentages on the day and both made the same number of three-pointers.
The Series
This will be just the third meeting between the Racers and the Redhawks in school history. MSU has earned a win in both outings dating back to the1987-88 campaign.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Nominee
Amber Guffey has been named one of two athletes from the OVC to be named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Nominee. The two are among 30 senior female NCAA college basketball candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports. Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekends of the respective NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
Double-Double Double
Senior Amber Guffey was one assist away from becoming just the second player in Racer history to record a triple-double. The Albany, Ky., native tallied 20 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and nine assists against Houston Baptist. Her double-double was one of two recorded during the night. Fellow senior Ashley Hayes garnered her team-high third double-double of the night with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Finding Confidence
After not playing basketball for three years, senior Angela Mullins was not expected to produce great number right away this season. The senior has been finding her game over the past few weeks and capped it off Friday night with a career-high 11 rebounds against HBU. The Madisonville, Ky., native has also been strong on defense, with a block in eight of the Racers 11 games this season.
Point Producing Paige
Senior Paige Guffey took the spot light off of her twin sister Amber in the Racers game against Alabama A&M. Paige led the team in scoring for the first time in 2008-09 after tallying a career-best 27 points. The Albany, Ky., native earned her points with a career-high eight field goals, a season-high four three-pointers, and went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Early NCAA Tournament Action
Miami will be the third team this season that the Racers will face that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. MSU opened the season at Western Kentucky and later played Florida State in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational.
Guffey Grabs Highest OVC Honor
The OVC has selected senior Murray State women's basketball player Amber Guffey as one of six individuals to receive its prestigious Scholar-Athlete Award for 2007-08. The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes, and is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes of junior or senior status for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
“Amber has been a model of consistency as a student-athlete at Murray State,” said Athletic Director Allen Ward. “Her commitment to her academic success, as well as helping the women's basketball program succeed on the court is a great example of what we hope all of the student-athletes at Murray State can strive to achieve.”
The six winners were selected from a group of 19 finalists by a vote of OVC Faculty Athletics Representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction, earned at least a 3.25 grade point average and conducted themselves in a manner which has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics and the OVC. The award is based on academic and athletic criteria/accomplishments achieved during the 2007-08 school year.
Free-Throw Frenzy
For the past four seasons, MSU has been knocking down a high percentage of shots from the charity stripe. Their effort to do so has paid off, as the Racers are currently ranked No. 1 among NCAA Division I teams in free-throw percentage. MSU has made 83.9 percent (177-of-211) of its free throws during the 2008-09 campaign. Air Force is second in the national standings with a 83.7 percent mark.
MSU finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked No. 3 in the same category, while the team was ninth in 2006-07, and 14th in 2005-06.
Individually the Racers have three players ranked in the top-100 in free-throw percentage. Paige Guffey leads the team and the OVC with 97.4 percent, having missed only one of her 39 attempts. That ranks her fourth in the nation. Her twin sister Amber is the second member of the MSU roster ranked in the national free-throw standings at No. 47. Amber has hit 66 of her 76 attempts for a 86.8 percent mark. She finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked sixth in the country with a 86.1 free-throw percentage. The final Racer ranked in the national charts is Ashley Hayes, with her 86.7 (26-of-30) percent shooting. Hayes jumped onto the charts in the No. 48 spot.
The MSU men's basketball team is currently ranked third in the nation for its 80.8 (143-of-177) free-throw percentage.
Outstanding in the OVC
Three of MSU's seniors are making sure that their names will not be forgotten quickly among the best in the OVC. Ashley Hayes is currently in the top-10 in five active career leader charts for the conference. Hayes is first among active players for her 690 rebounds, second in points scores (1,466), fourth in steals (116), seventh with 76 three-pointers made, and 10th with 29 blocks.
Amber Guffey is also ranked on several lists, making three appearances. Amber is first for her 380 assists and 173 trey's made. She also ranks third in scoring with 1,399 points.
Amber's twin sister, Paige Guffey, also makes an appearance on the three-point shots made charts. Paige is ranked seventh with 76.
Making Moves
Seniors Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey started the 2008-09 campaign as the ninth and 11th best scorers in MSU history. In the openings games of the OVC portion of the schedule she moved into the No. 5 position on MSU's All-Time Scoring charts, with 1,502 points. Hayes will now be aiming for the No. 4 spot held by Jennifer Parker, with 1,680 points.
Amber Guffey has also been making moves up the scoring charts. Against the Huskies Guffey moved into the No. 6 position on the scoring charts past Jackie Mounts (1,421) and now has 1,435 points. She is now right behind Hayes, with both aiming to pass Parker.
NCAA Student-Athlete Blog
The NCAA started a new feature on its website for the 2008-09 season. The organization has chosen a student-athlete from each of the sponsored sports at each division to create a blog for the duration of the athlete's season. The NCAA asked the MSU women's basketball team to participate in the blog, and seniors Amber Guffey and Ashley Hayes have been uploading at least one blog entry per week since the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign.
The Guffey/Hayes Blog can be found as a link on www.GoRacers.com on the right-hand side of the women's basketball page.
Upcoming Schedule
After Sunday's game the Racers will have the next two weeks off for the Holidays before traveling to Martin, Tenn., to resume the OVC schedule. MSU will play UT Martin, Monday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. The Racers will then return home for two conference tilts, Jan. 8 and 10. MSU will first battle with Tennessee State (Jan. 8) and then play host to Austin Peay (Jan. 10).
Quick Plays
Freshman Rachael Isom tallied a career-best three assists, and tied a career-high with two three-point baskets...senior Paige Guffey tallied four trey's for the second-straight game.
The Murray State women's basketball team returns to the road for the final non-conference game of the 2008-09 campaign when they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 19 at Millett Hall.
About Miami
The battle on the hardwood will be the first outing for the Redhawks since Dec. 13, as they have had the week off for finals. Miami is 6-3 on the season after falling to Butler in Oxford, 86-81 in overtime, in its last game. The extra stanza battle was the second straight for the Redhawks, after they battled to a 69-66 OT win at Dayton Dec. 10.
The Racers are the second Ohio Valley Conference team that Miami will face this season. The Redhawks opened the 2008-09 season with a 74-82 loss at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 14).
Miami has three players averaging ten-or-more points this season. Jenna Schone leads the team with 16.7 points per game, while Courtney Reed adds 11.2, and Jaclyn Leninger is netting 10.8 points per game.
Schone is a strong shooter from all areas of the court and takes most of the Redhawks shots. She has connected on 51 of her 136 shot attempts this year (37.5%), including 22-of-56 (39.3%) from beyond the arc. Schone is also leading the team in assists (42) and steals (20). However she has also committed the most turnovers (35) and fouled out of one game this season.
Ashleigh Brown and Maggie Boyer are also key threats for Miami. Brown is averaging 6.1 points per game as a forward, but is shooting 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the floor. Boyer has a 45.1 shooting percentage (23-of-51) and a 48.4 percent mark (15-of-31) from three-point range.
As a team the Redhawks are having a good year shooting. Miami is averaging 41.6 percent (234-of-563) overall and 38.2 percent (55-of-144) from beyond the arc. Only five of the 12 players who have earned minutes on the court are shooting under 40 percent on the season, with two of those five having attempted less than five shots.
Fouls and free throws are going to be a key factor in the game for both teams. The Racers will look to capitalize on their nation-leading free throw percentage because Miami is averaging 20.7 fouls per game. In fact the Redhawks opponents have made 140 free throws, while Miami has attempted just 138 on the season.
MSU will look to push its scoring output in the first half of play, as the Redhawks are garnering 50 more points in the second 20-minutes of action, while allowing their opponents to get just 33 more.
Against the Redhawks
In last season's battle in the RSEC, senior Ashley Hayes led the Racer returners with 23 points and nine rebounds against Miami. Senior Amber Guffey also tallied a double-digit point total with 15.
Stephanie Ford and Jenna Schone are the top returners for the Redhawks. Ford and Schone each garnered 16 points, while Ford added six boards.
The key to the victory for MSU came at the charity stripe. The Racers connected on 23 of their 30 attempts, while Miami made 14 of their 18. The nine extra points that MSU earned at the free-throw line account for the nine point difference in the score (81-72). Both teams had similar shooting percentages on the day and both made the same number of three-pointers.
The Series
This will be just the third meeting between the Racers and the Redhawks in school history. MSU has earned a win in both outings dating back to the1987-88 campaign.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Nominee
Amber Guffey has been named one of two athletes from the OVC to be named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Nominee. The two are among 30 senior female NCAA college basketball candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports. Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekends of the respective NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
Double-Double Double
Senior Amber Guffey was one assist away from becoming just the second player in Racer history to record a triple-double. The Albany, Ky., native tallied 20 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and nine assists against Houston Baptist. Her double-double was one of two recorded during the night. Fellow senior Ashley Hayes garnered her team-high third double-double of the night with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Finding Confidence
After not playing basketball for three years, senior Angela Mullins was not expected to produce great number right away this season. The senior has been finding her game over the past few weeks and capped it off Friday night with a career-high 11 rebounds against HBU. The Madisonville, Ky., native has also been strong on defense, with a block in eight of the Racers 11 games this season.
Point Producing Paige
Senior Paige Guffey took the spot light off of her twin sister Amber in the Racers game against Alabama A&M. Paige led the team in scoring for the first time in 2008-09 after tallying a career-best 27 points. The Albany, Ky., native earned her points with a career-high eight field goals, a season-high four three-pointers, and went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Early NCAA Tournament Action
Miami will be the third team this season that the Racers will face that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. MSU opened the season at Western Kentucky and later played Florida State in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational.
Guffey Grabs Highest OVC Honor
The OVC has selected senior Murray State women's basketball player Amber Guffey as one of six individuals to receive its prestigious Scholar-Athlete Award for 2007-08. The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes, and is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes of junior or senior status for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
“Amber has been a model of consistency as a student-athlete at Murray State,” said Athletic Director Allen Ward. “Her commitment to her academic success, as well as helping the women's basketball program succeed on the court is a great example of what we hope all of the student-athletes at Murray State can strive to achieve.”
The six winners were selected from a group of 19 finalists by a vote of OVC Faculty Athletics Representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction, earned at least a 3.25 grade point average and conducted themselves in a manner which has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics and the OVC. The award is based on academic and athletic criteria/accomplishments achieved during the 2007-08 school year.
Free-Throw Frenzy
For the past four seasons, MSU has been knocking down a high percentage of shots from the charity stripe. Their effort to do so has paid off, as the Racers are currently ranked No. 1 among NCAA Division I teams in free-throw percentage. MSU has made 83.9 percent (177-of-211) of its free throws during the 2008-09 campaign. Air Force is second in the national standings with a 83.7 percent mark.
MSU finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked No. 3 in the same category, while the team was ninth in 2006-07, and 14th in 2005-06.
Individually the Racers have three players ranked in the top-100 in free-throw percentage. Paige Guffey leads the team and the OVC with 97.4 percent, having missed only one of her 39 attempts. That ranks her fourth in the nation. Her twin sister Amber is the second member of the MSU roster ranked in the national free-throw standings at No. 47. Amber has hit 66 of her 76 attempts for a 86.8 percent mark. She finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked sixth in the country with a 86.1 free-throw percentage. The final Racer ranked in the national charts is Ashley Hayes, with her 86.7 (26-of-30) percent shooting. Hayes jumped onto the charts in the No. 48 spot.
The MSU men's basketball team is currently ranked third in the nation for its 80.8 (143-of-177) free-throw percentage.
Outstanding in the OVC
Three of MSU's seniors are making sure that their names will not be forgotten quickly among the best in the OVC. Ashley Hayes is currently in the top-10 in five active career leader charts for the conference. Hayes is first among active players for her 690 rebounds, second in points scores (1,466), fourth in steals (116), seventh with 76 three-pointers made, and 10th with 29 blocks.
Amber Guffey is also ranked on several lists, making three appearances. Amber is first for her 380 assists and 173 trey's made. She also ranks third in scoring with 1,399 points.
Amber's twin sister, Paige Guffey, also makes an appearance on the three-point shots made charts. Paige is ranked seventh with 76.
Making Moves
Seniors Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey started the 2008-09 campaign as the ninth and 11th best scorers in MSU history. In the openings games of the OVC portion of the schedule she moved into the No. 5 position on MSU's All-Time Scoring charts, with 1,502 points. Hayes will now be aiming for the No. 4 spot held by Jennifer Parker, with 1,680 points.
Amber Guffey has also been making moves up the scoring charts. Against the Huskies Guffey moved into the No. 6 position on the scoring charts past Jackie Mounts (1,421) and now has 1,435 points. She is now right behind Hayes, with both aiming to pass Parker.
NCAA Student-Athlete Blog
The NCAA started a new feature on its website for the 2008-09 season. The organization has chosen a student-athlete from each of the sponsored sports at each division to create a blog for the duration of the athlete's season. The NCAA asked the MSU women's basketball team to participate in the blog, and seniors Amber Guffey and Ashley Hayes have been uploading at least one blog entry per week since the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign.
The Guffey/Hayes Blog can be found as a link on www.GoRacers.com on the right-hand side of the women's basketball page.
Upcoming Schedule
After Sunday's game the Racers will have the next two weeks off for the Holidays before traveling to Martin, Tenn., to resume the OVC schedule. MSU will play UT Martin, Monday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. The Racers will then return home for two conference tilts, Jan. 8 and 10. MSU will first battle with Tennessee State (Jan. 8) and then play host to Austin Peay (Jan. 10).
Quick Plays
Freshman Rachael Isom tallied a career-best three assists, and tied a career-high with two three-point baskets...senior Paige Guffey tallied four trey's for the second-straight game.
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