Racers Start OVC Action Against Eastern Kentucky

Game 7
Murray State (2-4) at Eastern Kentucky (2-3)
Location: Richmond, Ky.
Arena: McBrayer Arena
Time: 4:30 p.m. (CST)

The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team will play its first Ohio Valley Conference games of the 2010-11 season this week when the Racers travel to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. Tip-off with the Colonels is set for 4:30 p.m. (CST) at McBrayer Arena, Thursday, Dec. 2.

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Scouting Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels are 2-3 overall after an 87-60 victory over Brewton-Parker College that broke a three-game losing streak.

EKU has three players averaging double-digit point totals, with sophomore Alex Jones leading the Colones in points and rebounds. Jones tallies 16.8 points and 8.4 boards per game, while shooting 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field and adding 14 steals. Marie Carpenter and Brittany Coles are the other two players averaging 10+ points per game. Carpenter nets 14.0 and Coles adds 13.0. Coles is also a strong shooter, with a 42.1 shooting percentage from the floor, a .444 mark from beyond the arc, and a .800 mark from the line.

EKU and its opponents have similar stats during the early portion of the season in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage. The Colonels are shooting 39.6 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc. Their opponents are hitting 37.9 percent overall and 23.1 from three point range. EKU has disadvantage in steals and blocks.

The Colonels are scoring better in the first half of action, with 25 more points than their opponents (170-145), but are being outscored by 12 (159-171) in the second stanza.

Against the Colonels
A season ago several of the returners had strong performances against EKU. The teams battled to a 1-1 series split, with each team winning on the road. Junior Rachael Isom led the Racers with 11 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Junior Mallory Schwab added 10 points and four rebound per outings, while shooting 58.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Junior Kayla Lowe played in just one game against the Colonels and added nine points.

MSU earned advantages in the points and turnover columns, while EKU earned a rebounding advantage. The Racers were a +5.5 in points and recorded nine less turnovers than the Colonels, but were out-rebounded by nine. The second half was better for the Racers, as the team tallied almost double their first half total (48-85) and EKU was held to about the same number of points in each half (59-63).

The Colonels have two key returners from last years team, with Alex Jones leading the way. Jones averaged 16 points and 15 rebounds per game, while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the charity stripe. Shakeyia Colyer also added 8.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for EKU.

The Series
The Colonels have a 50-28 advantage in the all-time series, but MSU has been victorious in eight of the last 10 meetings. EKU also holds a 23-13 advantage when playing in Richmond, with the Racers taking the last two meetings on the road and four of the last five.

Lowe Double-Double
Junior Kayla Lowe had a strong performance for the Racers against Evansville. Not only did the Pikeville, Ky., native tally a career-high 10 rebounds, but she also recorded her first career double-double after adding 11 points. Lowe's previous high in the rebounding column was eight, set against Morehead State last season in the first round of the OVC Championship (March 2).

On the Road Again
MSU is on a seven game road trip that accounts for the third-longest road trip in school history. The Racers have been on the road for seven-straight games in six previous season, with the most recent being the 1990-00 campaign. The longest road trip in school history is 11 games during the 1996-97 season. MSU has also been on the road for nine-straight games (1988-89).

Continuing Streaks
Four members of the MSU team that returned from the 2009-10 season have continued streaks that they started a year ago. Junior Rachael Isom has been a key force for the Racers since last season, scoring at least one point in 41 straight games, recording a rebound in 20, adding an assist in 10 and has started the last 36 games. Fellow junior Kayla Lowe has started the last 15 games and junior Mallory Schwab has a rebound in the last 14. Sophomore Mariah Robinson in the final returner with a streak, tallying a rebound in the last 20 games.

Jessica Jumping Right In
Redshirt-freshman Jessica Winfrey wasted no time making a name for herself with the Racers. The Marion, Ark., native may have sat out the 2009-10 campaign, but immediately earned a starting role in 2010-11. She is averaging 8.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game for MSU. She has scored at least one point and garnered a rebound in every game so far this season.

No Senior Leadership
After fighting through an injury plagued year in 2009-10 the Murray State women's basketball team will be in a select group of NCAA DI teams this season that will allow them to use the drive and determination they discovered last year, as the roster has no seniors listed. The Racers are one of seven programs in the country with no seniors on the 2010-11 roster, a list which includes MSU opponent Purdue.

New Season New Name
Murray State University's Regional Special Events Center (RSEC) will now be known as the CFSB Center, thanks to the largest gift in Murray State athletics history. CFSB (Community Financial Services Bank) donated $3.3 million to MSU's athletic program securing naming rights of the facility.

Mahurin Signs for 2011-12
Beth Mahurin, a 6-4 post player from Rockville High School in Rockville, Ind., will join the Racers starting in the 2011-12 campaign after signing during the early signing period.

Mahurin is a top scorer, rebounder and defender for the Rox. As a junior she averaged 17 points, 15 rebounds (third in the state), six blocks (first in the state) and a field goal percentage of 63. She is the top returning player in the state of Indiana in rebounds and blocks. Her 63.0 shooting percentage was third among Indiana players in 2009-10 and her 17 points per game rank her 13th among returners for Indiana.

During her junior season Mahurin was named the Indiana Fever Player of the Week following a 34 point, 24 rebound, and eight block performance. The two-time All- Wabash River Conference selection is also a standout in the classroom and is an honor roll student.

Mahurin had a very productive junior season that led her to being named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Junior All-State team and was a member of the Indiana Class All-Star 3/4A game participant. She was named a Pre-Season Hoosier Basketball Magazine All-State second team member as a junior and was recently elevated to the Pre-Season Hoosier Basketball Magazine All-State first team for her senior season as well as being a McDonald's All-American nominee.

OVC Tournament Changes
This year the OVC Tournament will all be contested at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., from March 2-5. The top two teams in the regular-season standings will earn byes into the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. This is the first season that the conference will bring all eight teams to one venue for the entire tournament, as in the past the first-round games have been played on campus sites.

Up Next
The Racers will continue their OVC opening weekend with a stop in Morehead, Ky., to face the Eagles. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. (CST), Saturday, Dec. 4 in Johnson Arena. The final stop of the seven-game road trip will be Dec. 12 in West Lafayette, Ind., to face Purdue after a week off for Fall Semester finals.

Murray State University Athletics

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