Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Evansville
Players Mentioned
Racers Open Hoops In The Heartland Thursday
3/7/2023 10:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MSU takes on Evansville in 8-9 matchup
Date (Time): Thurs. Mar. 9, 2023 (12 p.m.)
Opponent: Evansville Purple Aces
Site (Venue): Moline, Ill. (Vibrant Arena at The MARK)
Audio: WBZB 104.5 FM (PxP: Jeremy Rose)
TV: ESPN+ (PxP: Brad Wells; Analyst: Kelly Burke)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersWBB
MUR Record (Streak): 14-15 (Lost1)
UE Record (Streak): 11-18 (Lost 5)
Overall (Streak): MUR leads 25-16 (Won 1)
In Murray (Streak): MUR leads 14-6 (Won 3)
In Evansville (Streak): MUR leads 11-10 (Lost 1)
At Neutral Sites (Streak): --- (---)
Last 5 vs. UE: 4-1 (WLWWW)
First Meeting: W 46-41 (2/26/72 at MUR)
Last Meeting: W 80-60 (2/12/23 at MUR)
Biggest MSU Win: 68 Pts. (W 114-46, 2/10/81 at MUR)
Biggest MSU Loss: 30 Pts. (L 48-78, 12/10/11 at UE)
Next Game: Mar. 10 vs. Illinois St. (12 p.m.)
The Game
The eighth-seeded Murray State women's basketball team begins its quest for the first Missouri Valley Conference championship in program history Thursday when it opens play at the 2023 Hoops In The Heartland MVC Women's Basketball Championship against ninth-seeded Evansville at 12 p.m. at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK in Moline, Illinois on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Murray State just could not get past a pesky UIC squad Saturday, falling 65-58, in Chicago. Katelyn Young led the Racers with 21 points in the game, while Briley Pena followed with a career-high 16.
Series At A Glance
Murray State and Evansville will meet for the 42nd time Thursday, with the Racers holding a 25-16 advantage. Thursday will be the first ever meeting between the Purple Aces and the Racers at a neutral site.
Scouting The Purple Aces
Evansville finished the regular season at 11-18 overall and 6-14 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Purple Aces dropped their regular season finale Saturday at home against Bradley, 61-51.
Abby Feit currently leads the Purple Aces in scoring with 15.6 points per game, while Myia Clark follows at 11.4. Feit leads Evansville on the boards as well with 7.6 rebounds per game, while Barbora Tomancova follows at 6.5.
Evansville currently averages 63.4 points per game on 37.7-percent shooting with 34.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, the Purple Aces' opponents are averaging 72.7 points per game on 44.3-percent shooting with 37.9 rebounds per game.
A Win Would...
A win Thursday would allow the Racers to advance to the quarterfinals in their first Hoops In The Heartland Appearance.
Scholarly Effort
Katelyn Young was named to the 2023 MVC Scholar-Athlete team as an honorable mention Tuesday. Apart from leading the team in scoring and rebounding this season, the organizational communication major currently has a 3.65 GPA.
Trending Upwards
Murray State has one game in each of their last two conference tournament appearances. Prior to the most recent occurrence for winning tournament games in consecutive years was the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
Special Seasons
For the second consecutive season, Katelyn Young has scored 600-plus points. She is now only the second Racer to do so, joining Sheila Smith as the only two players in MSU history to achieve the milestone in multiple seasons.
Verge of History
Just sixth-tenths of a percent separate Macey Turley from the top free throw percentage in MSU history. Turley is currently shooting 93.2-percent at the line, while the program's best percentage, 93.8, came in the 1989-90 season from Melissa Huffman.
