Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Austin Peay
Players Mentioned
Racers and Govs Meet Saturday in Clarksville
1/20/2017 11:05:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Date/Time: Jan. 21/4 p.m.
Site: Clarksville, Tenn. – Dunn Center
Opponent (Record): Austin Peay (9-10, 3-3 OVC)
Murray State Record (Streak): 12-6, 4-1 OVC (W2)
Watch Live: OVC Digital Network
Listen Live: Froggy 103.7 FM
Live Stats
All-Time vs. APSU: MSU leads the all-time series 49-44
Last Meeting: MSU 72 at APSU 81 – Feb. 20, 2016
Twitter In-Game: @RacersWBB
The Murray State women's basketball team travels to Clarksville, Tenn., Saturday for the middle game of its three-game road trip as the Racers face Austin Peay in a 4 p.m. contest. MSU is looking for its third consecutive win and is coming off an 84-77 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Sunday.
Ke'Shunan James and LeAsia Wright led the Racers with 23 points each in the win and combined to shoot 17-for-30 from the floor. James also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to record her second straight double-double and third of the season. It marked the seventh time this season that a pair of Racers have scored 20 points or more in the same game and the sixth time that James and Wright achieved the feat in the same game.
For her efforts against SIUE, as well as her game against Eastern Illinois earlier in the week, James took home ADIDAS OVC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. It was James' second OVC player of the week honor this season.
James had an incredible week for the Racers as she averaged 23 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in MSU's two wins last week. James shot 55 percent from the floor during the week and averaged three steals per game.
James and Wright have proved to be a dynamic scoring duo for the Racers this season as they currently rank first and third, respectively in the league in scoring as they average 19.7 and 16.1 points per game, respectively. James' 19.7 points per ranks 19th in the nation entering the weekend.
Tearra Banks' 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game leads Austin Peay. Banks, who is the only Governor averaging in double figures, is also shooting a team-high 58.4 percent this season. Beth Rates, who is one of two Governors to start in all 19 games on the year, is second on the squad averaging 8.4 points per game. Falon Baker leads the Govs with 26 made 3-pointers and is shooting 31.3 percent from 3-point range. As a team, APSU is shooting just 28 percent from beyond the arc and is making 40 percent of its shots overall. The Govs are averaging nearly 64 points per game offensively and are allowing 66.6 points per game.
MSU's 81-72 loss last season at APSU snapped the Racers' three-game winning streak in the series. The Racers have won 7-of-9 of late in the series dating back to 2012.
Saturday will be a Heritage Bank Battle of the Border contest. The Heritage Bank Battle of the Border is an annual rivalry series between these two longtime OVC rivals. Points are awarded for each head-to-head regular season match up. There is also a donor and community service component. The 67 points in the competition represent the 67 miles separating the two institutions. A traveling trophy will be awarded to the winning institution each year. So far in 2016-17, MSU leads the series 16.5 to 1.5.
