Murray State University Athletics
Thursday, February 3
Nashville, Tenn.
5:15 p.m.
Murray State
at
Tennessee State
Kayla Lowe and Tessa Elkins both scored in double figures for the Racers this season against Tennessee State.
Photo by: Tab Brockman
Racers Headed to Nashville for Game with Tennessee State
2/1/2011 12:10:13 PM | Women's Basketball
Game 22
Murray State (6-15, 2-8 OVC) at Tennessee State (5-16, 2-9 OVC)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Gentry Center
Time: 5:15 p.m.
The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team will head to Tennessee State for a battle with the Lady Tigers in Ohio Valley Conference action. The Racers and TSU are set to tip-off, Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5:15 p.m. at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Game Notes
Listen
Live Stats
Live Video
Scouting Tennessee State
The Lady Tigers head into this Thursday's game with a 5-16 overall record and a 2-9 mark in the league after losing their last seven games. TSU had a strong last two outings, losing by just two at Morehead State (82-84) and falling in double overtime to Eastern Kentucky (86-91).
The Lady Tigers have five players that account for the majority of their shots, but two key threats. Meredith Stafford is leading the team with 11.6 points per game and has taken 270 shots from the field (most on the team by almost 100) and the most triples (81). She is connecting with the hoop at a .344 clip from the field and .296 mark from three-point range. Tayla Foster is the only other player on the team that averages more than six points per outing, with a 10.8 average. She is a strong shooter, making 45.8 percent of her shots overall and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. Stafford and Foster are also among the leading rebounders on the team, with 4.0 and 4.2 boards per game, respectively.
TSU trails its opponents in all statistical categories, with the biggest disadvantages in overall shooting percentage. The Lady Tigers are making 36.7 percent of their shots, while their opponents are hitting 40.5 percent of their attempts. This has helped lead to the -9.8 scoring differential in games this season.
Against the Lady Tigers
In the first OVC meeting with TSU, the Lady Tigers earned a 60-57 decision at the CFSB Center in Murray. The game was tight and the key factor came at the free-throw line. TSU made 13-of-18 shots from the charity stripe, while the Racers only had nine attempts and made six. MSU earned a slight rebounding advantage (43-40) and were the stronger shooting team. The Racers made shots at a .328 clip overall and a .404 mark from beyond the arc. MSU also held the Lady Tigers to a 24.1 shooting percentage overall and a 11.1 percentage from three-point range.
Junior Kayla Lowe tallied her second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tessa Elkins added 11 points and five rebounds.
Tayla Foster and Meredith Stafford were the top performers for TSU. Foster had 16 points and six rebounds and Stafford added 11 points and four boards.
The Series
Thursday's game will be the 50th meeting in the all-time series. The Racers currently own a 30-19 lead in the series, including a 13-11 mark when playing in Nashville. MSU is also 3-2 in the last five meetings.
Double Double-Double Nights
For the second time this season two members of the team garnered double-doubles on the same night. Sophomore Mariah Robinson earned her second of the season, with 25 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey added her sixth of the year, with 11 points and 13 rebounds. This marked the first time since the 2000-01 campaign that MSU had two players with double-doubles in the same game twice in a season.
In the win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 20), the Racers had two players earn double-doubles for the first time since Dec. 18, 2008 when Ashley N. Hayes (14 pts., 12 reb.) and Amber Guffey (20 pts., 11 reb.) each had one. Robinson earned her first career double-double, with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Winfrey earned her fourth of the season (11 pts., 10 reb.).
Nevels Making Some Noise
Sophomore Candace Nevels has been making the best of her increased playing time in the last few games. Against SIUE (Jan. 25) Nevels came in late in the game and tallied five points for MSU in a six-second span. The Bolingbrook, Ill., native then earned a chance to play more against UT Martin and again made the most of her time. In 14 minutes of play she tallied a career-high eight points and added two rebounds and an assist.
Consecutive Double-Doubles
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey became the first player since Ashley N. Hayes to record consecutive double-doubles when she earned her fifth of the season and second-straight against Southeast Missouri (14 pts., 10 reb.). Hayes was the last to record consecutive double-doubles when she tallied four from Feb. 12, 2009 to Feb. 21, 2009. A third straight would add Winfrey's name to the No. 6 spot on the Racers list of all-time consecutive double-doubles. Stephanie Minor leads that list, having recorded seven straight twice in her career.
Robinson Raining Three's
Sophomore Mariah Robinson had the game of her career Jan. 13 in Jacksonville, Ala. The Beaver Dam, Ky., native recorded the second-most points in school history (44) and tallied a school-record nine three pointers. The previous record was set by Megan Fuqua and her current coach Ashley B. Hayes (8). Robinson also added a career-best nine free throws and 13 field goals. She was not just a scoring threat for MSU in the game, as she added eight rebounds and three assists.
Elkins Elevating Performance
After playing sparingly in the first few games of the season, sophomore Tessa Elkins has become a key reserve in the lineup and earned her first starting role against the Gamecocks. Elkins has played double-digit minutes since the Dec. 22 game at UT Martin and has recorded 10-or-more points in five of those outings. She has recorded season-bests in all categories, including a career-high 13 points against TTU, four steals and seven free throws against APSU and three blocks versus UTM.
Racking Up the Rebounds
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey was ratcheting up her rebounding numbers from Dec. 18-Jan. 4. Winfrey garnered at least 10 rebounds during the four games, making her the first player since Ashley N. Hayes had the same streak in the 2008-09 season. She is also just the fourth MSU player to accomplish the feat since the 1996-97 campaign. Danelle Watts had a series of four games with 10+ boards in the 1998-99 season and Stephanie Minor went six and seven games in-a-row during the 1996-97 campaign.
Jessica Jumping Right In
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey has been a stable force for the Racers in her first season on the court. The Marion, Ark., native is first on the team in rebounding, averaging 9.0 boards per game, is third in scoring (10.0 ppg) and has tallied six double-doubles. Her talents on the court have led to her scoring at least one point and adding at least one rebound in every Racers game this season, while also recording 19 steals and eight blocks.
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.
The youthful roster has just nine years of NCAA collegiate experience on it, which ranks third among OVC teams for the least amount of NCAA collegiate experience. The only teams with fewer years of experience than the Racers are UT Martin (3) and Eastern Illinois (8).
Up Next
The Racers will remain on the road to battle with Austin Peay, Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5:15 p.m. in the Dunn Center. MSU will spend the rest of the season with two games at home followed by two road games.
Murray State (6-15, 2-8 OVC) at Tennessee State (5-16, 2-9 OVC)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Gentry Center
Time: 5:15 p.m.
The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team will head to Tennessee State for a battle with the Lady Tigers in Ohio Valley Conference action. The Racers and TSU are set to tip-off, Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5:15 p.m. at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Game Notes
Listen
Live Stats
Live Video
Scouting Tennessee State
The Lady Tigers head into this Thursday's game with a 5-16 overall record and a 2-9 mark in the league after losing their last seven games. TSU had a strong last two outings, losing by just two at Morehead State (82-84) and falling in double overtime to Eastern Kentucky (86-91).
The Lady Tigers have five players that account for the majority of their shots, but two key threats. Meredith Stafford is leading the team with 11.6 points per game and has taken 270 shots from the field (most on the team by almost 100) and the most triples (81). She is connecting with the hoop at a .344 clip from the field and .296 mark from three-point range. Tayla Foster is the only other player on the team that averages more than six points per outing, with a 10.8 average. She is a strong shooter, making 45.8 percent of her shots overall and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. Stafford and Foster are also among the leading rebounders on the team, with 4.0 and 4.2 boards per game, respectively.
TSU trails its opponents in all statistical categories, with the biggest disadvantages in overall shooting percentage. The Lady Tigers are making 36.7 percent of their shots, while their opponents are hitting 40.5 percent of their attempts. This has helped lead to the -9.8 scoring differential in games this season.
Against the Lady Tigers
In the first OVC meeting with TSU, the Lady Tigers earned a 60-57 decision at the CFSB Center in Murray. The game was tight and the key factor came at the free-throw line. TSU made 13-of-18 shots from the charity stripe, while the Racers only had nine attempts and made six. MSU earned a slight rebounding advantage (43-40) and were the stronger shooting team. The Racers made shots at a .328 clip overall and a .404 mark from beyond the arc. MSU also held the Lady Tigers to a 24.1 shooting percentage overall and a 11.1 percentage from three-point range.
Junior Kayla Lowe tallied her second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tessa Elkins added 11 points and five rebounds.
Tayla Foster and Meredith Stafford were the top performers for TSU. Foster had 16 points and six rebounds and Stafford added 11 points and four boards.
The Series
Thursday's game will be the 50th meeting in the all-time series. The Racers currently own a 30-19 lead in the series, including a 13-11 mark when playing in Nashville. MSU is also 3-2 in the last five meetings.
Double Double-Double Nights
For the second time this season two members of the team garnered double-doubles on the same night. Sophomore Mariah Robinson earned her second of the season, with 25 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey added her sixth of the year, with 11 points and 13 rebounds. This marked the first time since the 2000-01 campaign that MSU had two players with double-doubles in the same game twice in a season.
In the win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 20), the Racers had two players earn double-doubles for the first time since Dec. 18, 2008 when Ashley N. Hayes (14 pts., 12 reb.) and Amber Guffey (20 pts., 11 reb.) each had one. Robinson earned her first career double-double, with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Winfrey earned her fourth of the season (11 pts., 10 reb.).
Nevels Making Some Noise
Sophomore Candace Nevels has been making the best of her increased playing time in the last few games. Against SIUE (Jan. 25) Nevels came in late in the game and tallied five points for MSU in a six-second span. The Bolingbrook, Ill., native then earned a chance to play more against UT Martin and again made the most of her time. In 14 minutes of play she tallied a career-high eight points and added two rebounds and an assist.
Consecutive Double-Doubles
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey became the first player since Ashley N. Hayes to record consecutive double-doubles when she earned her fifth of the season and second-straight against Southeast Missouri (14 pts., 10 reb.). Hayes was the last to record consecutive double-doubles when she tallied four from Feb. 12, 2009 to Feb. 21, 2009. A third straight would add Winfrey's name to the No. 6 spot on the Racers list of all-time consecutive double-doubles. Stephanie Minor leads that list, having recorded seven straight twice in her career.
Robinson Raining Three's
Sophomore Mariah Robinson had the game of her career Jan. 13 in Jacksonville, Ala. The Beaver Dam, Ky., native recorded the second-most points in school history (44) and tallied a school-record nine three pointers. The previous record was set by Megan Fuqua and her current coach Ashley B. Hayes (8). Robinson also added a career-best nine free throws and 13 field goals. She was not just a scoring threat for MSU in the game, as she added eight rebounds and three assists.
Elkins Elevating Performance
After playing sparingly in the first few games of the season, sophomore Tessa Elkins has become a key reserve in the lineup and earned her first starting role against the Gamecocks. Elkins has played double-digit minutes since the Dec. 22 game at UT Martin and has recorded 10-or-more points in five of those outings. She has recorded season-bests in all categories, including a career-high 13 points against TTU, four steals and seven free throws against APSU and three blocks versus UTM.
Racking Up the Rebounds
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey was ratcheting up her rebounding numbers from Dec. 18-Jan. 4. Winfrey garnered at least 10 rebounds during the four games, making her the first player since Ashley N. Hayes had the same streak in the 2008-09 season. She is also just the fourth MSU player to accomplish the feat since the 1996-97 campaign. Danelle Watts had a series of four games with 10+ boards in the 1998-99 season and Stephanie Minor went six and seven games in-a-row during the 1996-97 campaign.
Jessica Jumping Right In
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey has been a stable force for the Racers in her first season on the court. The Marion, Ark., native is first on the team in rebounding, averaging 9.0 boards per game, is third in scoring (10.0 ppg) and has tallied six double-doubles. Her talents on the court have led to her scoring at least one point and adding at least one rebound in every Racers game this season, while also recording 19 steals and eight blocks.
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.
The youthful roster has just nine years of NCAA collegiate experience on it, which ranks third among OVC teams for the least amount of NCAA collegiate experience. The only teams with fewer years of experience than the Racers are UT Martin (3) and Eastern Illinois (8).
Up Next
The Racers will remain on the road to battle with Austin Peay, Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5:15 p.m. in the Dunn Center. MSU will spend the rest of the season with two games at home followed by two road games.
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