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HomeSportsAPSU Lady Govs Basketball makes road trip to Murray State Saturday

APSU Lady Govs Basketball makes road trip to Murray State Saturday

Austin Peay Lady Govs at Murray State Racers

Saturday, January 11th, 2014 | 5:15pm CT
Murray, KY | CFSB Center (8,500)

Austin Peay State University Lady Govs - APSUClarksville, TN – Austin Peay women’s basketball team (3-12, 0-2 OVC) begins its longest road trip of the 2013-14 campaign when it visits the Murray State Racers (7-7, 0-2 OVC) for a 5:15pm, Saturday, Ohio Valley Conference contest at the CFSB Center.

Austin Peay Women's Basketball begins road trip against Murray State Saturday.
Austin Peay Women’s Basketball begins road trip against Murray State Saturday.

The Lady Govs have opened league play with back-to-back losses, including a 95-81 loss to UT Martin, Monday. Austin Peay held a 14-point halftime lead against the Skyhawks, but could not hold on to that advantage.

The Lady Govs had their best shooting night (54.1 percent) since its last win, November 30th, against Central Arkansas, but also committed a season-high 30 turnovers.

Junior guard Kristen Stainback picked up APSU Player of the Game honors with her career-high 34-point outburst, Monday, that saw her make 14-of-19 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha returned to the starting lineup and celebrated with a career-high 22 points.

Murray State returns to action after an unplanned week-long layoff, which was created by the postponement of its Monday contest against Southeast Missouri. The Racers nearly knocked off UT Martin in their last action, dropping an 88-87 decision last Saturday. Five Racers shooters scored 10 or more points, including Keiona Kirby’s 27-point effort.

APSU Lady Govs

APSU - Austin Peay State University SportsAustin Peay carries an nine-game losing streak into Monday’s contest, its longest losing streak since the 2007-08 campaign. Sophomore guard Tiasha Gray leads the Lady Govs in scoring (14.1 ppg) and assists (5.1 apg). Five APSU players have recorded a double-double this season.

APSU has lost 10 consecutive OVC home games. Austin Peay’s non-conference opponents have combined for a .604 win percentage this season and APSU’s non-conference strength of schedule ranks 46th according to WBBState.com.

Murray State Racers

Murray State RacersMurray State is 1-3 against common opponents with APSU, defeating Evansville (62-50), falling to Western Kentucky (63-86), Xavier (66-70) and UT Martin (87-88). Austin Peay is 0-4 mark against those same squads.

Jessica Winfrey, averaging 11.4 rebounds per game, ranks 13th nationally in rebounding. Keiona Kirby ranks fourth among OVC scorers with 19.3 points per game, ranking 49th nationally. The Racers make an average of 9.1 three pointers per game and are among the nation’s top 10 teams in that category.

Hitting The Boards

Austin Peay has steadily improved its effort on the glass during the season, particularly on the offensive end. The Lady Govs averaged 17.0 offensive rebounds per game in a six-game span that ended with an eight offensive board outing against UT Martin, January 6th.

That was punctuated by a season best 20 offensive rebounds at Mississippi, December 30th. The Lady Govs are averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds per game this season.

Demons Lie Inside The Arc

Austin Peay’s trouble defensively has come inside the arc, where they have allowed opponents to make 49.5 percent of their two-point shots.

According to the WBBState.com website, the Lady Govs defense ranks 328th nationally in two-point field goal percentage defense entering Saturday’s game.

Gray Among OVC Leaders

Tiasha GrayAfter averaging 14.9 points and 4.5 assists in last season’s final six games, sophomore guard Tiasha Gray has picked up right where she left off.

This season, the Clarksville native is averaging 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Among OVC players, she leads the league in assists per game, ranks fourth in steals per game, 12th in scoring and is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35).

Changing It Up

In the season’s 10th game, head coach Carrie Daniels changed up her starting five for the first time. In the five games since, Daniels has utilized three different starting lineups.

In Monday’s contest against UT Martin, Daniels reinserted sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha into the lineup for freshman Tearra Banks – her fourth different lineup this season.

Stainback Hits Skyhawks For 34

Kristen StainbackJunior Kristen Stainback entered the January 6th affair against UT Martin with her best scoring effort a 17-point outing against Morehead State last season.

She topped that mark by halftime (19 points) en route to a career-high 34-point night.

Stainback was an impressive 14-of-19 from the floor, including a 5-of-8 outing from three-point range.

Talking Thirty

Stainback’s 34-point outing was the Lady Govs first since Whitney Hanley scored 38 points in the Lady Govs 2012 OVC Tournament victory against Morehead State, February 29th, 2012.

Nwokocha Doubles Down Again

Sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha celebrated her return to the starting lineup with a career-high 22 point outing, converting 10-of-15 from the floor.

She also grabbed 10 rebounds for her second career double double, both coming in the last three games.

Lady Govs Help One Another

Nicole OlszewskiAustin Peay was credited with a season high 22 assists in the January 6th loss to UT Martin.

Senior Nicole Olszewski handed out a career-high seven assists while sophomore Tiasha Gray dished out seven helpers of her own.

Broadcast Information

ipTV: www.OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Primary Radio: Governors Sports Network (David Loos, play-by-play/Van Stokes, analyst)
Live Audio: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Live Stats: www.GoRacers.com

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