Murray State University Athletics
Racers Hit the Road for Two OVC Games This Weekend
1/14/2009 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Game
After a brief stint in the Regional Special Events Center the Murray State women's basketball team will hit the road for two Ohio Valley Conference games this weekend. The Racers (9-6, 4-1 OVC) will first travel to face Jacksonville State, Thursday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in Pete Matthews Coliseum.
About Jacksonville State
The young Gamecocks have struggled early this season, winning only three of 15 games with none of those victories coming against OVC opponents.
Since the start of the conference portion of the season, JSU has two players averaging 10 or more points per game. Jolie Efezokhae is the team's leader with 12 points and 8.4 rebounds per game against OVC opponents. She is also averaging 13.9 points per game against all opponents this season. Brittany Wiley has increased her point production since the start of league play from 8.3 to 10 points per game.
Efezokhae, Wiley, and Zenobia Pitts combine to take the majority of the Gamecocks shots. The trio has taken 49 percent of the total team shots in conference action and has a combined shooting percentage of 34.9, just over the team average of 34 percent.
While Efezokhae and Wiley are key contributors from the floor, Pitts takes the majority of her shots from beyond the arc. She is 9-of-27 (.333) from three-point range and has taken the most three-pointers on the team.
Making shots has been somewhat of a problem for JSU this season, as they are shooting just 34 percent from the field, while its opponents have a 40.9 shooting percentage. There is also a large difference in three-point shooting (29.1 to 37.6).
The one statistical area where the Gamecocks seem to have an advantage is in blocking shots. JSU averages 4.8 blocks per game, but its opponents also garner 3.2 per game in OVC games.
Against the Gamecocks
In the two victories over JSU last season several returning players to the 2008-09 roster had strong series. Then-juniors Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey led the team in scoring. Hayes tallied 23 points per game and added 5.5 rebounds. She earned her point production on a 64.5 (20-of-31) shooting percentage. Amber Guffey added 22.5 points per outing, including a 20-of-21 mark from the charity stripe. Her free-throw percentage included a career-high 18 made free throws Dec. 18, 2007.
The top scorer for the Gamecocks in the series graduated, but the team still has two players returning that tallied over 10 points per game against the Racers. Eren McMichael only participated in one of the two games, but tallied 12 points. Charlease Williams added 10 points and 2.5 rebounds in two games. Both players are only averaging at most 5.9 points per game for JSU this season. The Gamecocks top player this year, Efezokhae, netted 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest against Murray State a season ago.
The Series
This will be just the ninth meeting between the Racers and JSU in the all-time series. Murray State currently holds a 6-2 advantage in the series, including a 4-0 mark in Pete Matthews Coliseum.
Hayes Nabs OVC POW Honors
Senior Ashley Hayes earned her first OVC Player of the Week honor for the 2008-09 campaign after being a key contributor in the Racers 3-0 record last week. The Humboldt, Tenn., native helped Murray State mov into a tie for first place in the OVC standings and is the second Racer to earn OVC honors this season.
Hayes averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds last week, including 29 points against Austin Peay. She tallied a double-double in all three games to give her four straight and six for the season. Against Austin Peay she brought down a season-high 14 rebounds. She also tied a season-high with four assists against Tennessee State.
20 Point Triple
In a rare moment in women's basketball, Murray State's “Big Three” had a strong night against Austin Peay and each tallied over 20 points in a game for the second time this season. Ashley Hayes tallied 29 points, while Amber Guffey added 27, and Paige Guffey netted 21 against the Lady Govs.
In a survey of NCAA Division I women's basketball SID's across the country only the University of Georgia has had three players score more than 20 points in a game twice in the same season.
Georgia is also the only school that has had twin sisters score more than 20 points in the same game. Kelly and Coco Miller tallied more than 20 points in the same game 10 times during their four-year career.
Hayes Doubling Down
Senior Ashley Hayes as increased her performance since the Racers opened the 2009 portion of the schedule. Hayes is now averaging a double-double in conference play (22.2 points/10.8 rebounds) after tallying double-doubles in the last four outings for Murray State. The four consecutive ranks her fourth on the Racers all-time list for consecutive double-doubles. Stephanie Minor headlines the list with seven during the 1994-95 campaign.
Hayes is also ranked fourth on the career double-doubles list at Murray State with 26. Even if she were to record a double-double in every regular season game the highest she could move on the career list is into third. Stephanie Minor is in the No. 1 spot with 48 and Michelle Wenning is second with 45. Monika Gadson currently holds the No. 3 spot with 31.
Successful Sisters
In the final 11 minutes of the battle with the Lady Tigers twin sisters Amber and Paige Guffey got Murray State back on the right track and pushed the team to victory. Amber tallied 14 of her team-leading 24 points in the final 11 minutes of the second half, while Paige garnered 11 of her 17 during the span.
Tennessee State Game Day Change
The game scheduled to be played against Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn., has been moved from Thursday, Feb. 5 to Wednesday, Feb. 4. The game will now be a double-header with the men's team. The game time will remain the same, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Working Way onto Watch List
Senior Amber Guffey can now add one more nomination to her list of honors for the 2008-09 campaign as she became the first Murray State women's basketball player to be named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List, awarded to the top women's basketball player in the nation.
The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T early season watch list was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and consists of 50 NCAA Division I women's basketball players from across the country. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, MO.
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.
A national media committee will narrow down the list of 30 nominees to 10 finalists in February. Those 10 finalists will be placed on the official nationalwide ballot for Division I head basketball coaches, national media, and fans to vote by text messaging or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com. Lowe's will present the winners with trophies during the 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.
Outstanding in the OVC
Four of MSU's seniors are making sure that their names will not be forgotten quickly among the best in the OVC. In game through Jan. 12, 2009, 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 1,593 points, second for her 766 rebounds, fifth in steals (124), eighth with 87 three-pointers made, and 10th with 32 blocks.
Amber Guffey is also ranked on several lists, making three appearances. Amber is first for her 411 assists and 182 trey's made. She also ranks third in scoring with 1,515 points.
Amber's twin sister, Paige Guffey, also makes an appearance on the three-point shots made charts. Paige is ranked seventh with 90.
The final senior on the list is Angela Mullins, who is seventh with her 36 blocks.
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. 2 among NCAA Division I teams in free-throw percentage. MSU has made 82.9 percent (281-of-339) of its free throws during the 2008-09 campaign. Drexel is first in the national standings with an 83.3 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 92.1 percent, having missed only six of her 76 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. 32. Amber has hit 109 of her 126 attempts for a 86.5 percent mark. She finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked sixth in the country with a 85.0 free-throw percentage. Ashley Hayes also moved onto the national list as No. 33 with an 86.4 percent mark from the charity stripe.
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 Hayes moved into the No. 5 position on MSU's All-Time Scoring charts, with 1,593 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. In the Racers game against Austin Peay Guffey became just the sixth Murray State player to tally over 1,500 points and now has 1,515 points. She is now right behind Hayes, with both aiming to pass Parker.
Murray State is one of four schools to have two players recorded their 1,500th career points in the same season. In a survey of NCAA Division I women's basketball SID's only four other schools have had players reach the milestone in the same season (Georgia, Michigan State, Purdue, and UC Santa Barbara). UCSB leads all teams responding with three players tallying their 1,500th points in 2000.
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
The Racers next game will be Saturday, Jan. 17 against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is schedule for 5 p.m. The game will be covered live on ESPNU.
Quick Plays
Paige Guffey tied a career-high with nine free throws made...freshman Mallory Schwab tallied a career-high three steals...junior Jasmyne Thornton played the last three minutes of the first half...it was the first time that she had participated in a game this season for the Racers.
After a brief stint in the Regional Special Events Center the Murray State women's basketball team will hit the road for two Ohio Valley Conference games this weekend. The Racers (9-6, 4-1 OVC) will first travel to face Jacksonville State, Thursday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in Pete Matthews Coliseum.
About Jacksonville State
The young Gamecocks have struggled early this season, winning only three of 15 games with none of those victories coming against OVC opponents.
Since the start of the conference portion of the season, JSU has two players averaging 10 or more points per game. Jolie Efezokhae is the team's leader with 12 points and 8.4 rebounds per game against OVC opponents. She is also averaging 13.9 points per game against all opponents this season. Brittany Wiley has increased her point production since the start of league play from 8.3 to 10 points per game.
Efezokhae, Wiley, and Zenobia Pitts combine to take the majority of the Gamecocks shots. The trio has taken 49 percent of the total team shots in conference action and has a combined shooting percentage of 34.9, just over the team average of 34 percent.
While Efezokhae and Wiley are key contributors from the floor, Pitts takes the majority of her shots from beyond the arc. She is 9-of-27 (.333) from three-point range and has taken the most three-pointers on the team.
Making shots has been somewhat of a problem for JSU this season, as they are shooting just 34 percent from the field, while its opponents have a 40.9 shooting percentage. There is also a large difference in three-point shooting (29.1 to 37.6).
The one statistical area where the Gamecocks seem to have an advantage is in blocking shots. JSU averages 4.8 blocks per game, but its opponents also garner 3.2 per game in OVC games.
Against the Gamecocks
In the two victories over JSU last season several returning players to the 2008-09 roster had strong series. Then-juniors Ashley Hayes and Amber Guffey led the team in scoring. Hayes tallied 23 points per game and added 5.5 rebounds. She earned her point production on a 64.5 (20-of-31) shooting percentage. Amber Guffey added 22.5 points per outing, including a 20-of-21 mark from the charity stripe. Her free-throw percentage included a career-high 18 made free throws Dec. 18, 2007.
The top scorer for the Gamecocks in the series graduated, but the team still has two players returning that tallied over 10 points per game against the Racers. Eren McMichael only participated in one of the two games, but tallied 12 points. Charlease Williams added 10 points and 2.5 rebounds in two games. Both players are only averaging at most 5.9 points per game for JSU this season. The Gamecocks top player this year, Efezokhae, netted 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest against Murray State a season ago.
The Series
This will be just the ninth meeting between the Racers and JSU in the all-time series. Murray State currently holds a 6-2 advantage in the series, including a 4-0 mark in Pete Matthews Coliseum.
Hayes Nabs OVC POW Honors
Senior Ashley Hayes earned her first OVC Player of the Week honor for the 2008-09 campaign after being a key contributor in the Racers 3-0 record last week. The Humboldt, Tenn., native helped Murray State mov into a tie for first place in the OVC standings and is the second Racer to earn OVC honors this season.
Hayes averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds last week, including 29 points against Austin Peay. She tallied a double-double in all three games to give her four straight and six for the season. Against Austin Peay she brought down a season-high 14 rebounds. She also tied a season-high with four assists against Tennessee State.
20 Point Triple
In a rare moment in women's basketball, Murray State's “Big Three” had a strong night against Austin Peay and each tallied over 20 points in a game for the second time this season. Ashley Hayes tallied 29 points, while Amber Guffey added 27, and Paige Guffey netted 21 against the Lady Govs.
In a survey of NCAA Division I women's basketball SID's across the country only the University of Georgia has had three players score more than 20 points in a game twice in the same season.
Georgia is also the only school that has had twin sisters score more than 20 points in the same game. Kelly and Coco Miller tallied more than 20 points in the same game 10 times during their four-year career.
Hayes Doubling Down
Senior Ashley Hayes as increased her performance since the Racers opened the 2009 portion of the schedule. Hayes is now averaging a double-double in conference play (22.2 points/10.8 rebounds) after tallying double-doubles in the last four outings for Murray State. The four consecutive ranks her fourth on the Racers all-time list for consecutive double-doubles. Stephanie Minor headlines the list with seven during the 1994-95 campaign.
Hayes is also ranked fourth on the career double-doubles list at Murray State with 26. Even if she were to record a double-double in every regular season game the highest she could move on the career list is into third. Stephanie Minor is in the No. 1 spot with 48 and Michelle Wenning is second with 45. Monika Gadson currently holds the No. 3 spot with 31.
Successful Sisters
In the final 11 minutes of the battle with the Lady Tigers twin sisters Amber and Paige Guffey got Murray State back on the right track and pushed the team to victory. Amber tallied 14 of her team-leading 24 points in the final 11 minutes of the second half, while Paige garnered 11 of her 17 during the span.
Tennessee State Game Day Change
The game scheduled to be played against Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn., has been moved from Thursday, Feb. 5 to Wednesday, Feb. 4. The game will now be a double-header with the men's team. The game time will remain the same, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Working Way onto Watch List
Senior Amber Guffey can now add one more nomination to her list of honors for the 2008-09 campaign as she became the first Murray State women's basketball player to be named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List, awarded to the top women's basketball player in the nation.
The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T early season watch list was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and consists of 50 NCAA Division I women's basketball players from across the country. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, MO.
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.
A national media committee will narrow down the list of 30 nominees to 10 finalists in February. Those 10 finalists will be placed on the official nationalwide ballot for Division I head basketball coaches, national media, and fans to vote by text messaging or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com. Lowe's will present the winners with trophies during the 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.
Outstanding in the OVC
Four of MSU's seniors are making sure that their names will not be forgotten quickly among the best in the OVC. In game through Jan. 12, 2009, 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 1,593 points, second for her 766 rebounds, fifth in steals (124), eighth with 87 three-pointers made, and 10th with 32 blocks.
Amber Guffey is also ranked on several lists, making three appearances. Amber is first for her 411 assists and 182 trey's made. She also ranks third in scoring with 1,515 points.
Amber's twin sister, Paige Guffey, also makes an appearance on the three-point shots made charts. Paige is ranked seventh with 90.
The final senior on the list is Angela Mullins, who is seventh with her 36 blocks.
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. 2 among NCAA Division I teams in free-throw percentage. MSU has made 82.9 percent (281-of-339) of its free throws during the 2008-09 campaign. Drexel is first in the national standings with an 83.3 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 92.1 percent, having missed only six of her 76 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. 32. Amber has hit 109 of her 126 attempts for a 86.5 percent mark. She finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked sixth in the country with a 85.0 free-throw percentage. Ashley Hayes also moved onto the national list as No. 33 with an 86.4 percent mark from the charity stripe.
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 Hayes moved into the No. 5 position on MSU's All-Time Scoring charts, with 1,593 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. In the Racers game against Austin Peay Guffey became just the sixth Murray State player to tally over 1,500 points and now has 1,515 points. She is now right behind Hayes, with both aiming to pass Parker.
Murray State is one of four schools to have two players recorded their 1,500th career points in the same season. In a survey of NCAA Division I women's basketball SID's only four other schools have had players reach the milestone in the same season (Georgia, Michigan State, Purdue, and UC Santa Barbara). UCSB leads all teams responding with three players tallying their 1,500th points in 2000.
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
The Racers next game will be Saturday, Jan. 17 against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is schedule for 5 p.m. The game will be covered live on ESPNU.
Quick Plays
Paige Guffey tied a career-high with nine free throws made...freshman Mallory Schwab tallied a career-high three steals...junior Jasmyne Thornton played the last three minutes of the first half...it was the first time that she had participated in a game this season for the Racers.
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