Racers Headed South for Matchup with Jacksonville State

Thursday, January 13

Jacksonville, Ala.

5:15 p.m.

Murray State

Jacksonville State

Sophomore Mariah Robinson is one of the top returners from a season ago against the Gamecocks, with 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Photo by: Fred Mullane

Racers Headed South for Matchup with Jacksonville State

1/11/2011 1:58:19 PM | Women's Basketball

Game 16
Murray State (4-11, 0-5 OVC) vs. Jacksonville State (6-10, 3-2 OVC)
Location: Jacksonville, Ala.
Arena: Pete Matthews Coliseum
Time: 5:15 p.m.

The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team returns to the road after a four-game home stand. The Racers will face Jacksonville State, Thursday, Jan. 13 at 5:15 p.m. in Pete Matthews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.

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Scouting Jacksonville State
The Gamecocks are also ending a four-game stint, but theirs was on the road. JSU is now 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the OVC after earning two conference road wins at Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State (OT) last week.

The Gamecocks have three main threats on a team that has spread out its scoring and rebounding efforts across the team. Brittany Wiley leads JSU with 14.4 points per game and adds 4.9 rebounds. Wiley has taken 80 more shots than anyone else on the team, but is only hitting 39.6 percent (86-of-217) of those shots from the field and 34.8 percent (23-of-66) from three-point range. Danielle Vaughn is second on the team in scoring (8.6) and first in rebounding (6.6). She is also the best shooter on the team, making 61 of her 104 attempts. Danielle Beneby is also a strong shooter for the Gamecocks, with a .404 mark from the field a .423 mark from beyond the arc. Beneby is also first on the team in assists (58) and steals (26).

Against the Gamecocks
Last year, the Racers earned victories in both conference meetings with JSU. Junior Rachael Isom is the team's leading returner from the series, with 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Isom shot .435 from the field and went 14-for-14 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Mariah Robinson is another key returner in the series, having averaged 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shooting 50 percent from the field.

MSU out-scored the Gamecocks by an average of 20 points in the two games and earned a +9.0 rebounding margin. The Racers had a strong shooting series, making 40.8 percent of their overall shots, 43.9 of those from three-point range and 89.3 percent from the free-throw line. JSU was held to .358, .222 and.375 marks.

Danielle Beneby and Zenobia Pitts are the leading returners for the Gamecocks. Beneby averaged 12.0 points and 3.0 boards per game, while shooting .588 from the field. Pitts added 9.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

The Series
The series with JSU is the youngest between the Racers and an OVC opponent, at just 11-2 in favor of MSU. The Racers have a 5-0 mark when playing in Jacksonville, Ala., and have won by 10 or more points in three of the last five meetings. MSU has also been victorious in the last eight meetings between the two teams.

Elkins Elevating Performance
After playing sparingly in the first few games of the season, sophomore Tessa Elkins has become a key reserve in the lineup over the past five games. Elkins has played double-digit minutes in MSU's last five games and has recorded 10-or-more points in four of those outings. In the game against TSU, she added a season-best five rebounds and a career-high five field goals made. She then added a career-best seven-made free throws and four steals against APSU. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native has shot .682 from the field and .429 from beyond the arc in the span and has added a total of nine steals and five assists.

Double-Double for Lowe
Junior Kayla Lowe garnered her second double-double of the season, and her career, in the Racers game versus TSU. Lowe earned the double-double in the final minute of the game when she hit a three to get MSU within one point. That shot gave her 12 points to go along with a career-high 10 rebounds.

Racking Up the Rebounds
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey was ratcheting up her rebounding numbers from Dec. 18-Jan. 4. Winfrey garnered at least 10 rebounds during the four games, making her the first player since Ashley N. Hayes had the same streak in the 2008-09 season. She is also just the fourth MSU player to accomplish the feat since the 1996-97 campaign. Danelle Watts had a series of four games with 10+ boards in the 1998-99 season and Stephanie Minor went six and seven games in-a-row during the 1996-97 campaign.

Putting It All Together
The Racers had a season-best game against the Jaguars, with the largest win of the season. The 29-point win was not the only season-best for MSU. The Racers shot 50.9 percent overall and 47.4 percent from three-point range. The percentage from the field was a season-best, while the mark from beyond the arc was the second-best this year. MSU also out-rebounded IUPUI by 15, the largest margin in 2010-11, and recorded a season-high nine triples.

Career Night Against the Cougars
Several players saw career highs increased in the Racers game against SIU Edwardsville. Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey started the trend by recording 17 rebounds, 10 in the first half. The 17 boards are the most by a Racers player since Nov. 28, 2009 when Mallory Luckett garnered 15 rebounds against Morgan State.

MSU also saw four players record double-digit point totals for the first time in 2010-11 and two of those were career bests. Freshman Mary Jehlik garnered her first double-digit total, with 13 and sophomore Tessa Elkins continued to added to her career number with 12.

Mary Moving In
Freshman Mary Jehlik has earned a starting role in the last five games. The Mount Sterling, Ky., native has tallied career bests in points, rebounding, assists, free throws and shooting percentage since her advancement on the bench. She recorded a career-high eight rebounds against IUPUI, and has increased her scoring best to 14. She also tallied career highs of four assists and free throws against the Jaguars.

Jessica Jumping Right In
Red-shirt freshman Jessica Winfrey has been a stable force for the Racers in her first season on the court. The Marion, Ark., native is first on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.6 boards per game, and third in scoring (9.6 ppg). She has tallied three double-doubles, including her latest versus IUPUI. Her talents on the court have led to her scoring at least one point and adding at least one rebound in every Racers game this season, while also recording 16 steals and six blocks.

No Senior Leadership
After fighting through an injury plagued year in 2009-10 the Murray State women's basketball team will be in a select group of NCAA DI teams this season that will allow them to use the drive and determination they discovered last year, as the roster has no seniors listed. The Racers are one of seven programs in the country with no seniors on the 2010-11 roster.

The youthful roster has just nine years of NCAA collegiate experience on it, which ranks third among OVC teams for the least amount of NCAA collegiate experience. The only teams with fewer years of experience than the Racers are UT Martin (3) and Eastern Illinois (8).

Up Next
The Racers will continue their road swing with a stop in Cookeville, Tenn., to face Tennessee Tech, Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. MSU is then home the following weekend to host Eastern Illinois (Jan. 20) and Southeast Missouri (Jan. 22).