MURRAY, Ky. – Austin Peay State University women's basketball team seeks to end to its three-game losing streak when it meets Murray State in a 5 p.m., Saturday, Ohio Valley Conference contest at the CFSB Center.
The Governors have started their current four-game road trip with back-to-back losses, including a 75-51 loss at UT Martin, Wednesday. The two losses extended APSU's losing streak to three games and has dropped it back to .500 in OVC play, its 5-5 mark placing it sixth in the league's standings.
After opening the road trip with a narrow two-point 71-69 loss at Southeast Missouri, last Saturday, , Austin Peay ran into a three-point opening salvo from UT Martin. The Skyhawks made 10 three pointers as part of a 34-point first quarter to break the game open. UTM eventually finished the game with 17 three pointers, the most allowed by APSU in program history.
Senior guard Tiasha Gray has done her part during the three-game losing streak, scoring 20 or more points in each contest and averaging 22.7 points per game. However, no other Govs player is averaging more than 6.3 points per game and Gray has registered only eight assists (2.7 per game) during the losing streak.
Austin Peay seeks to end its losing streak away from the Dunn Center where it has just one win in 13 tries – a Jan. 20 victory at Morehead State. The Govs also have struggled recently at Murray State's CFSB Center, losing their last three games there. APSU last tasted victory in Murray with a 85-72 win, Feb. 13, 2012.
Murray State opened OVC play with back-to-back wins, but has struggled to a 1-7 mark since and is ninth in the OVC race with a 3-7 record. The Racers have lost their last two games, surrendering more than 90 points at UT Martin (92-62, Jan. 30) and Southeast Missouri (96-59, Feb. 3). However, Murray State has posted five of its seven wins at the CFSB center this season.
Sophomore guard Ke'Shuna James, a Preseason All-OVC pick, is the Racers leading scorer (18.2 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.1 rpg) this season. She has been held in check during Murray State's two losses, averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds. In her place, freshman forward Abria Gulledge (19 points at UT Martin) and sophomore guard Jasmine Borders (17 points at SEMO) have led the Racers in scoring.
Saturday's contest will be the 82nd meeting between Austin Peay and Murray State since the 1976-77 season, with the Racers owning a slim 41-40 edge. The Racers have won six of the last seven games in the series, including its three-game win streak at the CFSB Center.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
BANK ON BANKS: Junior center Tearra Banks is in rarified air at the season's halfway point, entering Saturday's game ranked 6th among Division I players in field goal percentage (59.8). Only one player in APSU history has finished a season shooting better than 60 percent – Gerlonda Hardin, who accomplished the feat all four years she played at Austin Peay and finished her career shooting 61.8 percent from the floor.
GRAY MILESTONE WATCH CONTINUES: Senior guard Tiasha Gray became only the fifth APSU women's basketball player to reach the 1,500-point plateau with her 27-point performance at East Tennessee, Dec. 21. She enters the final six regular-season games of her career within sight of three career milestones – 1,800 points, 500 assists and 300 steals:
OVC Career Steals | Currently 5th (298) | Next: 302 by Connie Swift (TSU, 1992-97)
APSU Career Steals | Currently 1st (298) | Previous Record: 243 by Tracie Mason (1987-91)
APSU Career Points | Currently 5th (1,756) | Next: 1,805 by Shondra Maxwell (1986-90)
APSU Career Assists | Currently 3rd (482) | Next: 507 by Jeanne Hinchee (1978-82)
GOVS LEDGER: Facing one of the nation's toughest nonconference slates (25th ranked) took its toll early as APSU averaged just 59.3 points per game against its 11 Division I opponents. It has popped the lid on its offense in conference action, averaging 74.3 points per game and topping the 80-point barrier five times in its nine OVC games. During the nonconference portion of the schedule, Gray and Banks scored over 50 percent of APSU's points. However, that percentage has declined in OVC play, with the duo averaging just 43.6 percent of the team's scoring.
ABOUT THE RACERS: Murray State's three OVC wins have come against teams it is tied with (Morehead State and Tennessee Tech) or behind it (Eastern Illinois) in the standings entering this weekend's action. The Racers had a potent one-two punch to begin OVC play as junior guard LeAsia Wright scored 73 points (14.6 ppg) in the first five OVC outings, but she has been held to nine points (2.3 ppg) in MSU's last four games.
AN AUSTIN PEAY WIN WOULD: End its three-game losing streak… Snap its two-game losing streak against Murray State… Be its first victory at the CFSB Center since Feb. 13, 2012, ending a three-game losing streak in Murray… Make Midlick 8-16 overall and 6-5 in OVC play in his first season at Austin Peay and 53-32 in his third season as a head coach overall… Make the Govs 458-665 since 1976-77 and 234-335 in OVC action.
