Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Players Mentioned
Racers Finally Return To Court at EIU
1/6/2021 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MSU to play first game in 19 days Thursday in Charleston
Date (Time): Jan. 7 (4:30 p.m.)
Opponent: Eastern Illinois
Site (Venue): Charleston, Ill. (Lantz Arena)
Audio: WNBS 97.9 FM (PxP: Jeremy Rose)
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersWBB
Murray State Record (Streak): 3-3, 0-1 OVC (Lost 1)
Eastern Illinois Record (Streak): 3-5, 1-2 OVC (Lost 2)
Murray State Last Game: L 60-64 (Dec. 19, 2020; Murray, Ky.)
Eastern Illinois Last Game: L 67-72 (Jan. 2, 2021; Charleston, Ill.)
All-Time Series vs. Eastern Illinois (Streak): Murray State leads 33-21 (Lost 1)
All-Time Series in Charleston (Streak): Eastern Illinois leads 14-11 (Lost 2)
First Meeting: L 47-81 (Jan. 14, 1978; Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: L 46-66 (Feb. 20, 2020; Charleston, Ill.)
Last Five vs. Eastern Illinois: 3-2 (LWWLW)
Murray State Next Game: Jan. 9 at SIUE
Murray State Next Home Game: Jan. 11 vs. Morehead State
The Game
After a holiday break and two consecutive postponements, the Murray State women's basketball team will finally return to action Thursday at Lantz Arena in Charleston at 4:30 p.m. against Eastern Illinois on ESPN+, WNBS 97.9 FM and the Zeno radio app.
Scouting The Panthers
Eastern Illinois enters Thursday's match-up at 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the OVC. The Panthers won their OVC opener against SIUE, but fell in their last two games to Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.
Abby Wahl currently leads EIU in scoring at 15.6 points per game and in rebounding at 9.9 per game. Lariah Washington follows Wahl in scoring at 15.5 points, while Karle Pace and Morgan Litwiller are next in line for the Panthers at 13.6 and 10.3 points per game.
Thursday's match-up will be between the two best offenses in the OVC, as Murray State enters at 77.2 points per game, while EIU averages 72.0 points per game. The Panthers also lead the league in 3-pointers made with 63 for a 3-point percentage of 36.8. In addition to their shooting prowess, offense is a team endeavor for EIU as they currently lead the OVC in assists (128), assists per game (16.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.01:1).A Win Thursday Would...
A win Thursday would give Murray State its first OVC win of the season and first win in Charleston in three tries.
A Clean Sweep
With 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over two games for the week of Dec. 14, Katelyn Young earned her fourth consecutive OVC Freshman of the Week honor and now earned it in every week in which it she has competed.
Well Rested
The 19-day layoff between Murray State's last game on Dec. 19 and Thursday's game is its longest in 28 seasons. The last layoff of this length was 21 days during the 1993-94 season from De. 18, 1993 to Jan. 8 to 1994.
Statistically Sound
Currently, Katelyn Young is shooting an impressive 60.5 percent from the field this season by going 38-for-63 from the floor. Young's field goal percentage is currently the best in the OVC and the 30th best in all of Division I women's basketball. Ariyah Cooper of Alabama and Ma'Qhi Berry of Long Beach State currently lead the nation at 71.4 percent.
Deep Analysis
Another indicator of the Racers trending upwards this season are their averages in "analysis" stats. So far this season MSU is either keeping pace with or has surpassed last year's total in all four categories. The biggest increase so far, thanks mostly to the increased height of this year's team has been in points in the paint where the Racers have picked up 8.6 points per game.
Category                            19-20    20-21    Diff.
Pts. Off TOÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 15.1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 13.3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -1.8
Pts. In Paint                      28.4       37.0       +8.6
2nd Chance Pts. 13.4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 15.8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â +2.4
Fast Break Pts.                 7.5         10.6       +1.8
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