Women’s Basketball Opens Three Game Road Trip at UT Martin

Monday, December 31

CFSB Center

1 p.m.

Murray State

7-5, 0-1OVC

Eastern Kentucky

7-5, 1-0OVC

Eastern Ky.

Murray State

Photo by: Tab Brockman

Women’s Basketball Opens Three Game Road Trip at UT Martin

1/4/2013 11:29:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Game Notes | Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats

TV: None
Radio: 1340 WNBS
Web Streaming: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Series: UTM 34-32
At Murray: MSU 18-13
At EKU: UTM 20-13
Neutral: Tied 1-1

The Murray State women's basketball team will open a three-game road trip when it travels to defending OVC champion UT Martin on Saturday.

The Racers dropped their OVC opener on Monday afternoon, 69-49, to Eastern Kentucky at the CFSB Center. MSU never gathered any momentum in the contest, allowing the Lady Colonels to lead for the entire game.

The game marked the first time this season that Murray State never held a lead. EKU led by as many as 14 in the opening half, but the Racers were able to cut the lead to just six at halftime. The deficit marked the sixth time that MSU has trailed at the break this season and they now stand at 1-5 in those games.

In the second half, the Lady Colonels continued to build their lead, but led by just seven with 7:55. However that would be as close as the Racers would get on the afternoon, as once EKU went up by 12 with 7:03 remaining they never allowed MSU to get within single digits again. The 49 total points scored by Murray State in the game was its lowest offensive output of the season.

Sophomore Keiona Kirby led the Racers for the first time in her since joining the team last season by tying her career high with 11 points. Erica Burgess followed behind with 10 points, while Jessica Winfrey grabbed a team-high eight boards.

Saturday will be the 67th meeting between the two teams with UT Martin holding a slim 34-32 advantage. The Racers entered last season with a 32-31 lead in the series, but a sweep of the regular-season series and a win in the OVC tournament gave UT Martin the series lead.

The Racers are just 13-20 at Skyhawk Arena, but are 18-13 in Murray. The Skyhawks have won each of the last six meetings in the series, with MSU picking up its last win over UTM on Jan. 4, 2010.

The Skyhawks are currently 6-9 overall this season and 1-0 in OVC play. The Skyhawks' record can be a bit deceiving as four of their nine losses have come against teams currently ranked in the Top 15 of the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 women's basketball coaches poll, including top-ranked No. 2 Baylor and No. 3 Stanford. The Skyhawks are also picking up votes in polls this season, notching seven in the latest CollegeInsder.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

On Monday, UTM opened up is OVC slate by handing Jacksonville State its 24th consecutive loss, 93-63. Heather Butler led four Skyhawks in double-digits with 25, while Jasmine Newsome followed close behind with 24 points of her own. Rickiesha Bryant led all rebounders in the contest with 13, to go along with 14 points for her first double-double of the season.

Butler and Newsome currently lead the Skyhawks on the season by averaging 22.1 and 19.5 points per game, respectively. The duo's combined 41.6 points per game, currently accounts for 58.8 percent of UT Martin's total offense.

Saturday's game from the Elam Center in Martin will tip-off at 4 p.m., and will be broadcast locally on 1340 AM WNBS by Kyle Rogers. Live video will be available on the OVC Digital Network with live stats also being available on GoRacers.com