Racers and Eagles to Clash at CFSB Center

Thursday, February 24

CFSB Center

5:15 p.m.

Murray State

Morehead State

Junior Kayla Lowe tallied 23 points in her last meeting with the Eagles.

Photo by: Dusty Schull

2/22/2011 11:34:35 AM | Women's Basketball

Game 28
Murray State (8-19, 4-12 OVC) vs. MoreheadState (19-8, 12-4 OVC)
Location: Murray, Ky.
Arena: CFSB Center
Time: 5:15 p.m.

The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team will be competing in two of the most important games of the season this week, as it is the final weekend of regular-season action in the Ohio Valley Conference. First up for the Racers is a battle with Morehead State, Thursday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. at the CFSB Center.

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Scouting Morehead State
The Eagles head to Murray, Ky., with a 19-8 overall record and a 12-4 mark in the OVC. Morehead has been victorious in its last two games, after losing two in a row at the beginning of February.

The Eagles have four main players, of the seven that play regularly, that account for almost 80 percent of their total shots and 71 percent of those from three-point range. Of those four one really standouts above the group, as Chynna Bozeman has taken 501 total shots (256 triples) this season and accounts for 29 percent of the overall shooting and 37 percent of those taken beyond the arc. Bozeman leads the team with 20.3 points per game (14th NCAA) and adds 4.6 boards. However, she is not the most productive shooter on the team, hitting her shots at a .349 and .313 clip. The team's strongest overall shooter is Ashar Harris (.541). Harris is also the only player in the league to average a double-double, with 14.1 points and 11.8 rebounds (4th NCAA). Other key shooters are Courtney Lumpkin (13.8 ppg) and Linda Dixon, both have attempted over 200 shots overall and 100 three's.

Morehead likes to keep the scoring going and averages 70.4 points per game (49th NCAA). However, thye allow 66.5 by their opponents, just 3.9 less. One of the big differences in from beyond the arc, where the Eagles hit 7.4 triples per game (19th NCAA) and allow just four.

Morehead seems to play better defense in the first half and is more productive offensively in the second. The Eagles have garnered 162 more points in the second, while allowing 213 more to be scored against them.

Against the Eagles
In the first meeting between MSU and Morehead, the Eagles had a power-packed second half to earn a 75-64 win. The Racers were led by junior Kayla Lowe and red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey. Lowe tallied a season-best 23 points and added five blocks, while Winfrey recorded her first career double-double. The Marion, Ark., native tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds, while adding two assists and a steal.

The Racers shot 44.9 percent from the field and were 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles shot 45.6 percent from the field and earned a 35-33 advantage in the rebounding column. The big difference came in the second half when Morehead shot 62.1 overall and 62.5 from three-point range after hitting at just a .286 and .231 clip in the first.

The key contributors for the Eagles were Chynna Bozeman (21 pts.), Courtney Lumpkin (19 pts.), Linda Dixon (18 pts.) and Ashar Harris (12 reb.).

The Series
Morehead State leads the all-time series 40-35 after having taken the wins in the last four games. The teams are even in the last 10 meetings. The Racers own a 21-13 advantage when playing in Murray and are 4-1 in the last five meetings on the west side of the state.

Tournament Hopes
The top five teams in the OVC standings (TTU, Morehead State, UTM, EIU & APSU) have all clinched at least a spot in the 2011 OVC Championship to be hosted at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., March 2-5. MSU is among the remaining five teams that are all battling for the remaining three spots in the tournament. The determination will not be known until all conference games are completed Sunday and the tie-breaker scenarios are reviewed, if needed. The Racers have a chance to finish anywhere between sixth and 10th.

Winfrey Making Her Mark
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey has now tallied double-doubles against the same team twice this season, against both UTM and EIU. She has a chance to add a third team to the list Thursday when the Racers face the Eagles. Winfrey is also closing in on the top-10 lists for double-doubles in a season (No. 9 -11(2)) and career double-doubles (No. 10 -14).

Defensive Special
The Racers had a great defensive performance against Southeast Missouri (Feb. 17) at the Show Me Center. MSU held the Redhawks to just 34 points for the game, the lowest point total for an opponent in a game since Nov. 22, 1976 when the Racers defeated Vanderbilt, 59-32, on the road. MSU also held SEMO to just 22.8 percent shooting, including a 1-21 mark (.048) from beyond the arc.

Kayla Khiming In - Again
Junior Kayla Lowe started out the season by tallying double-digit point totals in seven of the first 10 games, but has only added five more since. One of those occasions was against the Redhawks (Feb. 17), when Lowe went 5-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range to garner 15 points. It was her first 10+ game since Feb. 3 (13 at TSU) and her highest total since Dec. 30 (18 vs. SIUE).

Schwab Adding Spark
Junior Mallory Schwab has been stepping up her output in the past few weeks and earned a starting role back. Schwab had started the first nine games of the year, but did not start again for 14 games. Since returning to the top of the line-up, the Martinsville, Ind., native has added a spark to the team. In the game against Jacksonville State, Schwab tallied a season-best 14 points, shot 62.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc and added three boards and two assists.

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.

Academic Honors Again
Junior Rachael Isom was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV second team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The honor marks the second-straight season that Isom has been named to the second team. The award also makes it the fourth-straight season that a Racer player has been named to the All-District IV team. Isom carries a 4.00 grade point average in English literature. The Cleveland, Tenn., native leads the team with 51 assists this season while also recording 7.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

To be consider for the Academic All-District teams, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in eligibility and own a minimum 3.30 grade-point average.

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 against UT Martin. 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.).

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 play their final regular-season game, Saturday, Feb. 26 at 5:15 p.m. in the CFSB Center. MSU's final opponent will be the same as their first conference opponent of the season, Eastern Kentucky.