Murray State University Athletics
Racers Headed to Battle With Golden Eagles
2/9/2010 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State women's basketball team returns to the road for a two-game road swing starting at Tennessee Tech, Thursday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn.
Scouting Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles are currently 9-14 overall and 4-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference standings after losing their last two games on the road to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
TTU has a balanced team scoring and rebouding, with no member of the team averaging less than one point and one rebound per game. The Golden Eagles have two players averaging more than 10 points per game, as Tacarra Hayes nets 16.2 and Kellie Cook garners 12.1. Hayes and Kellie Cook are also the teams leading rebounders, at 5.6 and 5.1 boards per game respectively. The duo have also taken close to double the amount of shots than anyone else on the team. Hayes is 125-of-300 (.417) on the season, while Kellie Cook is 103-of-316 (.326) on the year. Kylie Cook has taken the next highest total of shots, at 181. The Cook sisters are also the top three-point shooters on the team. Kylie Cook leads the team with 42 made three's, while Kellie Cook has netted 31.
Like MSU, the Golden Eagles are a very young team. TTU starts three freshman and two sophomores.
Fouls and free throws may play a large part in the game, as the Golden Eagles have committed almost 100 more fouls than their opponents this season and their opponents are making five more free throws per game this season.
Against the Golden Eagles
When TTU came to the Regional Special Events Center (Jan. 16) the Racers earned an 82-72 win in which free throws played a major factor. MSU set a school record for the most free throws attempted in a game (50) and had the second-highest total of free throws made in a game (37), just one shy of the school record. The Golden Eagles went 16-of-25 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore Rachael Isom led the Racers with a career-high 26 points, including 10 points from the free-throw line. Freshman Mariah Robinson also had a career night, with 22 points. Senior Mallory Luckett was also in double-digits for MSU, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The top scorers for TTU were Kylie Cook, with 15 points and Katy Cooke, with 12.
The Series
Thursday's meeting will be the 68th in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. TTU may have a 54-13 advantage in the series, but the Racers have been working hard to reverse that in the last few years. MSU has been the winner in seven of the last 10 outings, including the last six. The series in Cookeville is more lopsided, at 29-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles, but the Racers have earned a victory in the last two games on the road.
Isom Earns Academic All-District Honors
Sophomore Rachael Isom was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 4 Second Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA). A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Isom has a 4.00 GPA while majoring in English.
Isom is the third women's basketball player in the last three seasons to earn a spot on the All-District 4 teams. Amber Guffey and Paige Guffey earned Academic All-District 4 second and third team honors in 2007-08 and then moved up to first team selections in 2008-09. The duo was also named to the 2008-09 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, with Amber Guffey earning Academic All-America of the Year honors.
Career Night
The Racers win over Tennessee State saw several players earn career highs and firsts. Freshman Tessa Elkins had a banner night, setting career bests in points (10), rebounds (7), assists (3), blocks (1), and field goals made (4). Senior Mallory Luckett added career highs for steals (4), blocks (3), and free throws (8). Candace Nevels set a career high for her five rebounds and also recorded her first career assist. Fellow rookie Jessica Holder netted her first career three-pointer, while senior Kayla Vance garnered her first career block.
Lowe's Highs
Sophomore Kayla Lowe may had missed 14 games due to injury this season, but since her return she has been stepping up and filling in a key role for MSU; scoring. The Pikeville, Ky., native recently more than doubled her career high in the points column. Lowe tallied 21 points against UT Martin and also set career bests for field goals (7), three-point field goals (4), and free throws (3).
TRIPLE-DOUBLE!!!!
Senior Mallory Luckett accomplished a feat that only one other Racer player had done in school history when she recorded a triple-double in the Racers, 78-49, victory over Jacksonville State. The Louisville, Ky., native tallied 14 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds to join Karen Johnson as the only MSU women's players to garner a triple-double. Johnson earned the Racers' first during the 1987-88 campaign.
Luckett is one of 18 players in NCAA DI women's basketball to record a triple-double this season and is the second from the OVC, as Tacarra Hayes from TTU did so earlier this season. Her 11 assists ranked her No. 7 on the MSU all-time assists in a game list and marks the first time since the 2001-02 season that a Racer has tallied double-digit assists in a single game.
Luckett followed her triple-double with her fourth double-double against Tennessee Tech (10 points, 10 rebounds). She tallied seven assists against the Golden Eagles.
Double-Digit Isom
Sophomore Rachael Isom been stepping up for MSU the last nine games, with double-digit point totals in eight, including four games with at least 20 points. The Cleveland, Tenn., native has tallied double-digit point totals for the Racers in 14 games this season and has been the team's leading scorer in eight games.
Scoring Go-Round
After having three players from the 2008-09 season dominate the scoring all season, the 2009-10 edition of the Racers has been harder to determine who will fill in that role. MSU has had seven different members of the roster lead the team in scoring this season. Senior Kayla Vance is leading the way with nine games in the top-scoring position, with and sophomore Rachael Isom having done so eight times. Senior Mallory Luckett has topped the scoring charts four times. Sophomore Mallory Schwab and freshman Mariah Robinson have been the leading scorers twice, with sophomores Kayla Lowe and Kristen Kluempers each leading the team once.
Three Point Streak
The Racers currently have the No. 10 active three-point scoring streak in NCAA DI women's basketball, at 312 games. The streak dates back to Nov. 27, 1999 against Belmont. Canisus College is leading the list, with an NCAA-record 477-straight games scoring at least one shot from beyond the arc. Southeast Missouri State is the only other team from the conference in the top-10, at No. 7 (366).
National Recognition
Murray State might not have the best overall record, but the team is currently ranked in the top-100 of six national statistical categories and has three players ranked in the top-110 in five individual categories as of Feb. 7.
The Racers top ranking is in three point field goals made per game, at No. 28 (7.1). The Racers are also No. 52 in three-point field goal defense (28.8), No. 55 in scoring offense (70.4), No. 64 in turnovers (16.2), No. 69 in turnover margin (2.39) and No. 73 in assist/turnover ratio (0.84).
Mallory Luckett leads the team with three individual top-110 rankings. The Louisville, Ky., native is in the No. 15 spot for assists (5.7) and No. 25 in assist/turnover ratio (2.0) and No. 4 in triple-doubles (1.0). Freshman Jessica Holder is ranked 103rd in blocked shots (1.4) and senior Kayla Vance recently earned a No. 63 ranking for her 82.9 free-throw percentage.
Up Next
The Racers remain on the road to face Jacksonville State, Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. MSU will then return home for the final two regular-season games in the Regional Special Events Center. The Racers face Southeast Missouri Feb. 18 at 5:15 p.m. and Eastern Illinois, Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
Noteables
Senior Mallory Luckett is currently No. 7 on the OVC Active Assists charts, with 194...freshman Jessica Holder is ranked No. 7 on the OVC Active Blocks list, with 32.
Scouting Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles are currently 9-14 overall and 4-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference standings after losing their last two games on the road to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
TTU has a balanced team scoring and rebouding, with no member of the team averaging less than one point and one rebound per game. The Golden Eagles have two players averaging more than 10 points per game, as Tacarra Hayes nets 16.2 and Kellie Cook garners 12.1. Hayes and Kellie Cook are also the teams leading rebounders, at 5.6 and 5.1 boards per game respectively. The duo have also taken close to double the amount of shots than anyone else on the team. Hayes is 125-of-300 (.417) on the season, while Kellie Cook is 103-of-316 (.326) on the year. Kylie Cook has taken the next highest total of shots, at 181. The Cook sisters are also the top three-point shooters on the team. Kylie Cook leads the team with 42 made three's, while Kellie Cook has netted 31.
Like MSU, the Golden Eagles are a very young team. TTU starts three freshman and two sophomores.
Fouls and free throws may play a large part in the game, as the Golden Eagles have committed almost 100 more fouls than their opponents this season and their opponents are making five more free throws per game this season.
Against the Golden Eagles
When TTU came to the Regional Special Events Center (Jan. 16) the Racers earned an 82-72 win in which free throws played a major factor. MSU set a school record for the most free throws attempted in a game (50) and had the second-highest total of free throws made in a game (37), just one shy of the school record. The Golden Eagles went 16-of-25 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore Rachael Isom led the Racers with a career-high 26 points, including 10 points from the free-throw line. Freshman Mariah Robinson also had a career night, with 22 points. Senior Mallory Luckett was also in double-digits for MSU, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The top scorers for TTU were Kylie Cook, with 15 points and Katy Cooke, with 12.
The Series
Thursday's meeting will be the 68th in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. TTU may have a 54-13 advantage in the series, but the Racers have been working hard to reverse that in the last few years. MSU has been the winner in seven of the last 10 outings, including the last six. The series in Cookeville is more lopsided, at 29-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles, but the Racers have earned a victory in the last two games on the road.
Isom Earns Academic All-District Honors
Sophomore Rachael Isom was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 4 Second Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA). A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Isom has a 4.00 GPA while majoring in English.
Isom is the third women's basketball player in the last three seasons to earn a spot on the All-District 4 teams. Amber Guffey and Paige Guffey earned Academic All-District 4 second and third team honors in 2007-08 and then moved up to first team selections in 2008-09. The duo was also named to the 2008-09 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, with Amber Guffey earning Academic All-America of the Year honors.
Career Night
The Racers win over Tennessee State saw several players earn career highs and firsts. Freshman Tessa Elkins had a banner night, setting career bests in points (10), rebounds (7), assists (3), blocks (1), and field goals made (4). Senior Mallory Luckett added career highs for steals (4), blocks (3), and free throws (8). Candace Nevels set a career high for her five rebounds and also recorded her first career assist. Fellow rookie Jessica Holder netted her first career three-pointer, while senior Kayla Vance garnered her first career block.
Lowe's Highs
Sophomore Kayla Lowe may had missed 14 games due to injury this season, but since her return she has been stepping up and filling in a key role for MSU; scoring. The Pikeville, Ky., native recently more than doubled her career high in the points column. Lowe tallied 21 points against UT Martin and also set career bests for field goals (7), three-point field goals (4), and free throws (3).
TRIPLE-DOUBLE!!!!
Senior Mallory Luckett accomplished a feat that only one other Racer player had done in school history when she recorded a triple-double in the Racers, 78-49, victory over Jacksonville State. The Louisville, Ky., native tallied 14 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds to join Karen Johnson as the only MSU women's players to garner a triple-double. Johnson earned the Racers' first during the 1987-88 campaign.
Luckett is one of 18 players in NCAA DI women's basketball to record a triple-double this season and is the second from the OVC, as Tacarra Hayes from TTU did so earlier this season. Her 11 assists ranked her No. 7 on the MSU all-time assists in a game list and marks the first time since the 2001-02 season that a Racer has tallied double-digit assists in a single game.
Luckett followed her triple-double with her fourth double-double against Tennessee Tech (10 points, 10 rebounds). She tallied seven assists against the Golden Eagles.
Double-Digit Isom
Sophomore Rachael Isom been stepping up for MSU the last nine games, with double-digit point totals in eight, including four games with at least 20 points. The Cleveland, Tenn., native has tallied double-digit point totals for the Racers in 14 games this season and has been the team's leading scorer in eight games.
Scoring Go-Round
After having three players from the 2008-09 season dominate the scoring all season, the 2009-10 edition of the Racers has been harder to determine who will fill in that role. MSU has had seven different members of the roster lead the team in scoring this season. Senior Kayla Vance is leading the way with nine games in the top-scoring position, with and sophomore Rachael Isom having done so eight times. Senior Mallory Luckett has topped the scoring charts four times. Sophomore Mallory Schwab and freshman Mariah Robinson have been the leading scorers twice, with sophomores Kayla Lowe and Kristen Kluempers each leading the team once.
Three Point Streak
The Racers currently have the No. 10 active three-point scoring streak in NCAA DI women's basketball, at 312 games. The streak dates back to Nov. 27, 1999 against Belmont. Canisus College is leading the list, with an NCAA-record 477-straight games scoring at least one shot from beyond the arc. Southeast Missouri State is the only other team from the conference in the top-10, at No. 7 (366).
National Recognition
Murray State might not have the best overall record, but the team is currently ranked in the top-100 of six national statistical categories and has three players ranked in the top-110 in five individual categories as of Feb. 7.
The Racers top ranking is in three point field goals made per game, at No. 28 (7.1). The Racers are also No. 52 in three-point field goal defense (28.8), No. 55 in scoring offense (70.4), No. 64 in turnovers (16.2), No. 69 in turnover margin (2.39) and No. 73 in assist/turnover ratio (0.84).
Mallory Luckett leads the team with three individual top-110 rankings. The Louisville, Ky., native is in the No. 15 spot for assists (5.7) and No. 25 in assist/turnover ratio (2.0) and No. 4 in triple-doubles (1.0). Freshman Jessica Holder is ranked 103rd in blocked shots (1.4) and senior Kayla Vance recently earned a No. 63 ranking for her 82.9 free-throw percentage.
Up Next
The Racers remain on the road to face Jacksonville State, Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. MSU will then return home for the final two regular-season games in the Regional Special Events Center. The Racers face Southeast Missouri Feb. 18 at 5:15 p.m. and Eastern Illinois, Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
Noteables
Senior Mallory Luckett is currently No. 7 on the OVC Active Assists charts, with 194...freshman Jessica Holder is ranked No. 7 on the OVC Active Blocks list, with 32.
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