Murray State University Athletics
Monday, December 19
University, Miss.
5:00 PM
Murray State
at
Mississippi
Photo by: Tab Brockman
Racers Headed For the Magnolia Classic
12/16/2011 12:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Murray State (3-6) at Mississippi(6-3) / Murray State vs. Cleveland State (3-5)
Monday - 5 p.m. / Tuesday - 5 p.m.
Tad Smith Coliseum
Oxford, Miss.
Game Notes I Listen Live I Watch Live I Live Stats
The Games
The Murray State women's basketball team will be participating in the Magnolia Classic, Monday, Dec. 19 and Tuesday, Dec. 20 in Oxford, Miss. The Racers will first face host Mississippi (Dec. 19) and then battle with Cleveland State (Dec. 20), with both games slated to start at 5 p.m. in Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Mississippi
The Rebels are 6-3 after losing their last two games, but will have a chance to snap the losing streak Friday, Dec. 16 at Lipscomb. Ole Miss is 4-1 this season when playing at home and had one five-straight before its current trend.
The Rebels have two key players to focus on in Nikki Byrd and Valencia McFarland. Byrd is averaging a double-double on the season with 14.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.3 (49-of-87) percent from the field. McFarland is currently the team's point's leader, with 14.9 per outing. She also adds 3.7 boards per game, 39 assists, 24 steals and shoots at a .376 mark from the field and a .313 (10-of-32) pace from beyond the arc. The duo account for 35 percent of the team's shots taken and 45 percent of the shots made this season.
Ole Miss is close in all the statistical categories across the season box score. The biggest disadvantage is in three-point shooting, where they are hitting 25.2 percent of their shots to 27.4 by their opponents. The area where they have the biggest advantage is blocked shots, with 3.7 shots blocked per game and they are only having 2.0 blocked. The Racers will have to look for a strong scoring opening stanza by the Rebels, where they have 48 more points than their opponents this season. This is compared to just a +2 advantage in the second half.
The Series
The meeting with the Rebels will be the fifth in the all-time series, which dates back to 1984, and has seen Ole Miss win all of the pervious contests. The last meeting between MSU and the Rebels was March 22, 2009 in the second round of the WNIT. Ole Miss earned an 87-49 win in that meeting and moved to 3-0 against the Racers when playing in Oxford, Miss.
Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings head into the games with a 3-5 record after losing their last game (Dec. 10) at Toledo and like MSU have been idle for over a week.
CSU has three key players that all average over 10 points per game. Destinee Blue is first on the list with 13.8 points per game, adds 5.5 rebounds and is shooting 56.3 percent. Shalonda Winton is next on the list with 11.8 points and a team-high 9.9 boards per game. Winton adds 23 assists, 10 blocks, 11 steals and is shooting at a .341 pace from the field and a .250 clip from three-point range. Takima Keane is the final player in double-figures, with 11.5 points per game. She is also contributing 25 assists and steals, while shooting 46.9 (15-of-32) percent from beyond the arc and 39.0 percent from the field.
The Vikings are trailing their opponents in most of the statistical categories this season. They are being out-scored by 9.2 points and out-rebounded by 2.2 boards per game. CSU is also allowing its opponents to hit 6.3 triples per game and making only 4.5 of its own.
The Series
This will be the first meeting between the Racers and the Vikings. MSU has battled with three other teams from the Horizon League and owns a 9-5 advantage against those opponents.
Ranking Among the Nations Best
MSU has found itself ranked in the top-20 in three NCAA statistical categories, and is just one of two schools to be ranked in all three. The Racers join women's basketball powerhouse Connecticut in the top-20 in three-point field goals made, steals and turnover margin.
MSU's high pressure style of play and defensive intensity, despite a heavy road schedule, has led the Racers to be ranked No. 16 is steals per game, with 13.4 per outing and No. 19 in turnover margin, forcing 7.22 more turnovers per game. UConn is ranked 12th in steals (14.1) and fifth (9.22) in turnover margin.
Both teams are also strong three-point shooting teams making over seven triples per game. The Huskies are No. 15, with 7.7 per outing, while the Racers are ranked No. 13 (7.9).
Making Move Up or On Top-10 Lists
Three members of the team are currently on or close to making their mark on three top-10 lists at MSU. Junior Mariah Robinson is currently ranked No. 7 on the three's made chart, with 117. She is just seven from No. 6 (124-Ashley N. Hayes). Senior Kayla Lowe is making a move to join Robinson on the list, with her 91 career triples. The No. 10 spot is 94 (Melissa Shelton).
Fellow senior Mallory Schwab is also making an effort to get on a top-10 list, blocks. The Martinsville, Ind., native has 43 blocks to her name and the chart start at 46 (four players).
1,000 Point Club Membership
Junior Mariah Robinson is cruising along to a membership in the 1,000 Point Club at Murray State. The Beaver Dam, Ky., native is looking to become the 18th member of the club and would be the ninth Racer to do so during her junior campaign. Robinson currently has 785 points, just 215 away from the milestone and is averaging 13.4 points per game this season.
Three Point Season
The Racers have made 73 triples this season, 31.5 percent of the school record for the most three's in a season (232). MSU has a season-high of 15 made in a single game (vs. Mid-Con) and has recorded the same or more triples than its opponents in every game this season. Of the 13 active players on the team, only three have not attempted a shot from beyond the arc and 8-of-11 have made at least one.
Going for No. 500/50
The Racers are currently 492-635-2 in their 47th season of basketball. With eight more wins the team will record its 500 victory. The 500th win for MSU would make the Racers the sixth team in the conference to record over 500 wins. MSU would join Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, SIU Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech in the club. With two more wins head coach Rob Cross will also reach his 50th career win.
High Pressure Defense
The new high-pressure defense that the Racers are playing this season has forced three of their opponents into 30+ turnovers and four more into 20+ turnovers. This is the first time since at least 1996-97, when individual game stats are available, that the team has forced more than one opponent into 30+ turnovers. The most forced during that span was 39 (Nov. 18, 2009) by Mid-Continent. So far this season MSU has forced Mid-Con into 33, Ball State into 32 and Evansville into 31. Overall the Racers have forced 217 turnovers and have committed just 153.
Jessica's Missing for the Season
Both of the Racers players named Jessica, Jessica Winfrey and Jessica Holder, will miss the 2011-12 campaign due to injury. Winfrey was a key starter for the Racers last year, while Holder was sidelined for most of the 2010-11 campaign due to injury as well.
Up Next
The last three games of the current six-game road swing will be the first three games of the Ohio Valley Conference season at Southeast Missouri (Dec. 31), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 2) and Austin Peay (Jan. 7).
Monday - 5 p.m. / Tuesday - 5 p.m.
Tad Smith Coliseum
Oxford, Miss.
Game Notes I Listen Live I Watch Live I Live Stats
The Games
The Murray State women's basketball team will be participating in the Magnolia Classic, Monday, Dec. 19 and Tuesday, Dec. 20 in Oxford, Miss. The Racers will first face host Mississippi (Dec. 19) and then battle with Cleveland State (Dec. 20), with both games slated to start at 5 p.m. in Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Mississippi
The Rebels are 6-3 after losing their last two games, but will have a chance to snap the losing streak Friday, Dec. 16 at Lipscomb. Ole Miss is 4-1 this season when playing at home and had one five-straight before its current trend.
The Rebels have two key players to focus on in Nikki Byrd and Valencia McFarland. Byrd is averaging a double-double on the season with 14.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.3 (49-of-87) percent from the field. McFarland is currently the team's point's leader, with 14.9 per outing. She also adds 3.7 boards per game, 39 assists, 24 steals and shoots at a .376 mark from the field and a .313 (10-of-32) pace from beyond the arc. The duo account for 35 percent of the team's shots taken and 45 percent of the shots made this season.
Ole Miss is close in all the statistical categories across the season box score. The biggest disadvantage is in three-point shooting, where they are hitting 25.2 percent of their shots to 27.4 by their opponents. The area where they have the biggest advantage is blocked shots, with 3.7 shots blocked per game and they are only having 2.0 blocked. The Racers will have to look for a strong scoring opening stanza by the Rebels, where they have 48 more points than their opponents this season. This is compared to just a +2 advantage in the second half.
The Series
The meeting with the Rebels will be the fifth in the all-time series, which dates back to 1984, and has seen Ole Miss win all of the pervious contests. The last meeting between MSU and the Rebels was March 22, 2009 in the second round of the WNIT. Ole Miss earned an 87-49 win in that meeting and moved to 3-0 against the Racers when playing in Oxford, Miss.
Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings head into the games with a 3-5 record after losing their last game (Dec. 10) at Toledo and like MSU have been idle for over a week.
CSU has three key players that all average over 10 points per game. Destinee Blue is first on the list with 13.8 points per game, adds 5.5 rebounds and is shooting 56.3 percent. Shalonda Winton is next on the list with 11.8 points and a team-high 9.9 boards per game. Winton adds 23 assists, 10 blocks, 11 steals and is shooting at a .341 pace from the field and a .250 clip from three-point range. Takima Keane is the final player in double-figures, with 11.5 points per game. She is also contributing 25 assists and steals, while shooting 46.9 (15-of-32) percent from beyond the arc and 39.0 percent from the field.
The Vikings are trailing their opponents in most of the statistical categories this season. They are being out-scored by 9.2 points and out-rebounded by 2.2 boards per game. CSU is also allowing its opponents to hit 6.3 triples per game and making only 4.5 of its own.
The Series
This will be the first meeting between the Racers and the Vikings. MSU has battled with three other teams from the Horizon League and owns a 9-5 advantage against those opponents.
Ranking Among the Nations Best
MSU has found itself ranked in the top-20 in three NCAA statistical categories, and is just one of two schools to be ranked in all three. The Racers join women's basketball powerhouse Connecticut in the top-20 in three-point field goals made, steals and turnover margin.
MSU's high pressure style of play and defensive intensity, despite a heavy road schedule, has led the Racers to be ranked No. 16 is steals per game, with 13.4 per outing and No. 19 in turnover margin, forcing 7.22 more turnovers per game. UConn is ranked 12th in steals (14.1) and fifth (9.22) in turnover margin.
Both teams are also strong three-point shooting teams making over seven triples per game. The Huskies are No. 15, with 7.7 per outing, while the Racers are ranked No. 13 (7.9).
Making Move Up or On Top-10 Lists
Three members of the team are currently on or close to making their mark on three top-10 lists at MSU. Junior Mariah Robinson is currently ranked No. 7 on the three's made chart, with 117. She is just seven from No. 6 (124-Ashley N. Hayes). Senior Kayla Lowe is making a move to join Robinson on the list, with her 91 career triples. The No. 10 spot is 94 (Melissa Shelton).
Fellow senior Mallory Schwab is also making an effort to get on a top-10 list, blocks. The Martinsville, Ind., native has 43 blocks to her name and the chart start at 46 (four players).
1,000 Point Club Membership
Junior Mariah Robinson is cruising along to a membership in the 1,000 Point Club at Murray State. The Beaver Dam, Ky., native is looking to become the 18th member of the club and would be the ninth Racer to do so during her junior campaign. Robinson currently has 785 points, just 215 away from the milestone and is averaging 13.4 points per game this season.
Three Point Season
The Racers have made 73 triples this season, 31.5 percent of the school record for the most three's in a season (232). MSU has a season-high of 15 made in a single game (vs. Mid-Con) and has recorded the same or more triples than its opponents in every game this season. Of the 13 active players on the team, only three have not attempted a shot from beyond the arc and 8-of-11 have made at least one.
Going for No. 500/50
The Racers are currently 492-635-2 in their 47th season of basketball. With eight more wins the team will record its 500 victory. The 500th win for MSU would make the Racers the sixth team in the conference to record over 500 wins. MSU would join Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, SIU Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech in the club. With two more wins head coach Rob Cross will also reach his 50th career win.
High Pressure Defense
The new high-pressure defense that the Racers are playing this season has forced three of their opponents into 30+ turnovers and four more into 20+ turnovers. This is the first time since at least 1996-97, when individual game stats are available, that the team has forced more than one opponent into 30+ turnovers. The most forced during that span was 39 (Nov. 18, 2009) by Mid-Continent. So far this season MSU has forced Mid-Con into 33, Ball State into 32 and Evansville into 31. Overall the Racers have forced 217 turnovers and have committed just 153.
Jessica's Missing for the Season
Both of the Racers players named Jessica, Jessica Winfrey and Jessica Holder, will miss the 2011-12 campaign due to injury. Winfrey was a key starter for the Racers last year, while Holder was sidelined for most of the 2010-11 campaign due to injury as well.
Up Next
The last three games of the current six-game road swing will be the first three games of the Ohio Valley Conference season at Southeast Missouri (Dec. 31), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 2) and Austin Peay (Jan. 7).
Head Coach Ryan Miller | Racer Men's Basketball | 10/13/2025 Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14
Head Coach Jody Wright | Racer Football | 10/13/2025 Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14
JJ Traynor & Javon Jackson | Racer Men's Basketball | 10/13/2025 Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14
Jordan Washington & Jim Ogle | 10/11 | Racer Football Post-game Press Conference
Monday, October 13
