Murray State University Athletics
Monday, January 9
CFSB Center
7:00 PM
Murray State
vs
Eastern Kentucky
Photo by: Tab Brockman
Racers Return to CFSB Center After a Month Away to Face Eastern Kentucky
1/8/2012 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Murray State (4-10, 1-2 OVC) vs. Eastern Kentucky (7-7, 3-1 OVC)
Monday - 7 p.m.
CFSB Center
Murray, Ky.
Game Notes I Listen Live I Watch Live (Watch Free) I Live Stats
The Game
After over a month on the road, the Murray State women's basketball team will be returning to the friendly confines of the CFSB Center for the first of three-straight games. The Racers will battle with Eastern Kentucky, Monday, Jan. 9, with the tip being thrown at 7 p.m.
Scouting Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels are 7-7 overall and 3-1 in Ohio Valley Conference action after a 52-37 win over Southeast Missouri (Jan. 7) in Richmond, Ky. The game in Murray, Ky., will be the first road game for EKU since Dec. 20 when they opened league play with an 80-76 overtime win at Jacksonville State.
The Colonels have three players to watch that account for 49 percent of their shots taken and 54 percent of those made. Marie Carpenter is at the top of the season box score, averaging 14.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Carpenter is shooting .382 from the field and a team-best .429 (21-49) from beyond the arc. Jade Barber is next on the list, with 10.7 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per outing. She is also shooting .593 (68-104) from the field, the second-best mark in the OVC. Raechele Gray is the other key player to watch, with 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She is shooting .378 from the field and .370 from beyond the arc and is adding 52 assists and 26 steals.
EKU has strong shooters all around, with the team hitting 40.1 percent of their shots and their opponents making 35.6 percent. The Colonels are close in most statistical categories, with the biggest differences being in points (+3.8), rebounds (-2.3) and blocks (4.2 to 2.4).
The Series
The all-time series with EKU is the second-longest among OVC teams, with the Colonels holding a 51-29 advantage overall and a 25-15 lead when playing in Murray. The series has been equal in the last two years, but the Racers are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
Elkins Impressing in OVC Action
Junior Tessa Elkins has made her presence know more on the court since the start of OVC play. Before the start of the conference season the Cincinnati, Ohio, native was averaging 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting .328 from the field. In the first three games of the OVC season the guard is now netting 12.0 points, 6.7 boards, 3.0 assists and 2.7 steals per outing and shooting .433 from the field. She has also set a career best of 17 points at SEMO and season bests of nine rebounds (at APSU) and four assists (at EIU and APSU).
Five-Time OVC Player of the Week
For the third-straight week and the fifth time this season, red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess was named the adidas Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, for Jan. 4.
The Memphis, Tenn., native recorded career-highs of 23 points and eight made free throws in the win over Southeast Missouri (Dec. 31). She finished the week going a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity strip. She averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over the two games.
Record OVC Opening Night
Several members of the Racers had record setting nights in the 2011-12 OVC opener against Southeast Missouri. Junior Tessa Elkins and red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess both recorded career highs in the point's column, with 17 and 23 respectively. Burgess also went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe for a career night. Senior Kayla Lowe got in the action with a career-best four assists. However, the career night was key for freshman Beth Mahurin. The Rockville, Ind., native hit career bests of six points, eight rebounds and three field goals. She recorded all of her career highs before the end of the first half and added to them during the second.
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. 5 on the three's made chart, with 131. She is just two from No. 4 (133-Megan Fuqua). Senior Kayla Lowe also joined Robinson on the list, with her 100 career triples, for the No. 10 spot.
Fellow senior Mallory Schwab is also making an effort to get on a top-10 list, blocks. The Martinsville, Ind., native has 44 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 864 points, just 136 away from the milestone and is averaging 14.3 points per game this season.
Taking Charge of Monday Night
After spending most of the first half of the season on the road the Racers are finally returning home and Monday nights are a big part of the action. Each Monday night for the next six weeks (Jan. 9-Feb. 13) MSU's women's basketball team will be hosting a game at the CFSB Center.
When the OVC schedule changed to have Saturday-Monday games for the women's team's in the conference the league implemented “Taking Charge of Monday Night” where each team is featured on OVCSports.com and the game they are playing will be featured free on OVCSports.TV. The Jan. 9 game against EKU is the Colonels featured night and the Racers will be featured Feb. 16 (Thursday vs. UT Martin).
Three Point Season
The Racers have made 105 triples this season, 45.3 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 12 active players on the team, only two have not attempted a shot from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 have made at least one.
Going for No. 500/50
The Racers are currently 493-639-2 in their 47th season of basketball. With seven 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 one 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 six 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 307 turnovers and have committed just 242.
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 Racers home stand will continue with games against Tennessee Tech (Jan. 14 -7:30 p.m.) and Jacksonville State (Jan. 16 - 7 p.m.).
Monday - 7 p.m.
CFSB Center
Murray, Ky.
Game Notes I Listen Live I Watch Live (Watch Free) I Live Stats
The Game
After over a month on the road, the Murray State women's basketball team will be returning to the friendly confines of the CFSB Center for the first of three-straight games. The Racers will battle with Eastern Kentucky, Monday, Jan. 9, with the tip being thrown at 7 p.m.
Scouting Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels are 7-7 overall and 3-1 in Ohio Valley Conference action after a 52-37 win over Southeast Missouri (Jan. 7) in Richmond, Ky. The game in Murray, Ky., will be the first road game for EKU since Dec. 20 when they opened league play with an 80-76 overtime win at Jacksonville State.
The Colonels have three players to watch that account for 49 percent of their shots taken and 54 percent of those made. Marie Carpenter is at the top of the season box score, averaging 14.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Carpenter is shooting .382 from the field and a team-best .429 (21-49) from beyond the arc. Jade Barber is next on the list, with 10.7 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per outing. She is also shooting .593 (68-104) from the field, the second-best mark in the OVC. Raechele Gray is the other key player to watch, with 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She is shooting .378 from the field and .370 from beyond the arc and is adding 52 assists and 26 steals.
EKU has strong shooters all around, with the team hitting 40.1 percent of their shots and their opponents making 35.6 percent. The Colonels are close in most statistical categories, with the biggest differences being in points (+3.8), rebounds (-2.3) and blocks (4.2 to 2.4).
The Series
The all-time series with EKU is the second-longest among OVC teams, with the Colonels holding a 51-29 advantage overall and a 25-15 lead when playing in Murray. The series has been equal in the last two years, but the Racers are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
Elkins Impressing in OVC Action
Junior Tessa Elkins has made her presence know more on the court since the start of OVC play. Before the start of the conference season the Cincinnati, Ohio, native was averaging 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting .328 from the field. In the first three games of the OVC season the guard is now netting 12.0 points, 6.7 boards, 3.0 assists and 2.7 steals per outing and shooting .433 from the field. She has also set a career best of 17 points at SEMO and season bests of nine rebounds (at APSU) and four assists (at EIU and APSU).
Five-Time OVC Player of the Week
For the third-straight week and the fifth time this season, red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess was named the adidas Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, for Jan. 4.
The Memphis, Tenn., native recorded career-highs of 23 points and eight made free throws in the win over Southeast Missouri (Dec. 31). She finished the week going a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity strip. She averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over the two games.
Record OVC Opening Night
Several members of the Racers had record setting nights in the 2011-12 OVC opener against Southeast Missouri. Junior Tessa Elkins and red-shirt sophomore Erica Burgess both recorded career highs in the point's column, with 17 and 23 respectively. Burgess also went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe for a career night. Senior Kayla Lowe got in the action with a career-best four assists. However, the career night was key for freshman Beth Mahurin. The Rockville, Ind., native hit career bests of six points, eight rebounds and three field goals. She recorded all of her career highs before the end of the first half and added to them during the second.
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. 5 on the three's made chart, with 131. She is just two from No. 4 (133-Megan Fuqua). Senior Kayla Lowe also joined Robinson on the list, with her 100 career triples, for the No. 10 spot.
Fellow senior Mallory Schwab is also making an effort to get on a top-10 list, blocks. The Martinsville, Ind., native has 44 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 864 points, just 136 away from the milestone and is averaging 14.3 points per game this season.
Taking Charge of Monday Night
After spending most of the first half of the season on the road the Racers are finally returning home and Monday nights are a big part of the action. Each Monday night for the next six weeks (Jan. 9-Feb. 13) MSU's women's basketball team will be hosting a game at the CFSB Center.
When the OVC schedule changed to have Saturday-Monday games for the women's team's in the conference the league implemented “Taking Charge of Monday Night” where each team is featured on OVCSports.com and the game they are playing will be featured free on OVCSports.TV. The Jan. 9 game against EKU is the Colonels featured night and the Racers will be featured Feb. 16 (Thursday vs. UT Martin).
Three Point Season
The Racers have made 105 triples this season, 45.3 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 12 active players on the team, only two have not attempted a shot from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 have made at least one.
Going for No. 500/50
The Racers are currently 493-639-2 in their 47th season of basketball. With seven 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 one 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 six 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 307 turnovers and have committed just 242.
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 Racers home stand will continue with games against Tennessee Tech (Jan. 14 -7:30 p.m.) and Jacksonville State (Jan. 16 - 7 p.m.).
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