Lady Govs, Blue Raiders rise bright and early for Tuesday hoops

December 4, 2012 |

Austin Peay women’s basketball team will rise bright and early for an 11 a.m., Tuesday contest against in-state opponent Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center. The contest is part of Murfreesboro City Schools Education Day, with parts of 12 city schools in attendance. In its last outing, Austin Peay ended a three-game losing streak with a 79-66 victory against Ball State. However, the Lady Govs have not won away from the Dunn Center this season (0-4). Middle Tennessee dropped a 63-56 decision at South Dakota State, Saturday, and brings a two-game losing streak into Tuesday’s contest. The Blue Raiders are 2-0 at the Murphy Center this season.

LADY GOVS SEASON TO DATE

Austin Peay’s two wins have both come in the friendly confines of the Dunn Center as it has struggled away from home this season… the Lady Govs haven’t shot the ball well this season, making just 38.2 percent of their shots during the season, but have topped 40 percent in a game four times… rebounding also has been a concern in the early going, with the team racking up a minus-11.4 rebounding margin… nine APSU players have played in every contests… for the second consecutive game, Austin Peay head coach Carrie Daniels made a change to the starting lineup, inserting freshman Tiasha Gray for senior Leslie Martinez against Ball State… Austin Peay has won the turnover battle in four of its seven games and owns a plus-2.1 turnover margin… seven players are averaging five points per game, with two players averaging just over 10 points per game (Leslie Martinez and Meghan Bussabarger at 10.6 and 10.1 points per game, respectively).

BLUE RAIDERS BUGLE

After opening the season with consecutive home games, the Blue Raiders return home after completing a six-game road trip… Middle Tennessee reached the semifinal round of the Preseason Women’s NIT, defeating Kennesaw State and Memphis at home before losing in overtime at Iowa… that overtime contest was one of three (1-2 record) MTSU has played this season, including at nationally-ranked Tennessee where they lost an 88-81 decision… Middle Tennessee again features a high-pressure defense that has forced opponents into 23.4 turnovers per game… the Blue Raiders also have been a three-headed monster offensively with junior forward Ebony Rowe, senior guard Kortni Jones and senior forward Icelyn Elie each averaging 15-plus points this season… Rowe has been the dominant presence for Middle Tennessee averaging 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this season… Jones leads the team with 18 three-pointers and 38 assists this season and is averaging 15.6 points per game…  Elie is the complement to Rowe in the post, averaging 15.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

AN AUSTIN PEAY WIN WOULD…

Be its second straight win… end a six-game losing streak to Middle Tennessee (last win 12/8/2005)… end a four-game losing streak at the Murphy Center (last win 1/6/2003)… end its four-game losing streak in true road games… be its first win away from the Dunn Center this season (1-4)… be Daniels’ first head coaching win against MTSU… improve Daniels’ record to 75-121 overall… make the Lady Govs 428-594 overall since 1976-77.

AN AUSTIN PEAY LOSS WOULD…

Be its fifth consecutive loss in true road games dating back to last season… make it 0-5 away from the Dunn Center this season… be its seventh-straight loss to Middle Tennessee… be its fifth consecutive loss at the Murphy Center… make Daniels’ 0-7 against MTSU… drop Daniels’ record to 74-122 overall… make the Lady Govs 427-595 overall since 1976-77.

FRESHMAN TRIO EATING UP MINUTES EARLY

The freshman trio of Tiasha Gray (20.6 mpg), Jennifer Nwokocha (14.0 mpg) and Alexis Hardaway (22.4 mpg) have found themselves heavily involved this season, combining for 399 minutes (28.5 percent of the team’s minutes). The trio also have posted five of Austin Peay’s 18 double-digit scoring outings this season. Most recently, Gray reached the territory for a second-consecutive game with an 11-point effort against Ball State while Nwokocha chipped home 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.

CHARITY STRIPE

After opening the season making just 16 of its first 30 free throws (53.3 percent), Austin Peay has made its opponents pay in the more recent stretch of games, converting 74-of-105 (70.5 percent) during that span. The burst has helped the Lady Govs push their season free-throw percentage to 66.7 percent, but still ranks ninth among OVC teams.

THE STARTING FIVE

Head coach Carrie Daniels opened the 2012-13 campaign by putting forth the same starting five in five consecutive games. However, the performances by her freshmen have caused Daniels to do some juggling in Austin Peay’s last two outings.

The starting five used by Daniels this season:

STARTING LINEUPS

Stainback, N. Olszewski, Martinez, Bussabarger, Hill (1-4)

Stainback, N. Olszewski, Martinez, Nwokocha, Bussabarger (0-1)

Gray, Stainback, N. Olszewski, Nwokocha, Bussabarger (1-0)

THE RUNDOWN

AUSTIN PEAY LADY GOVS (2-5, 0-0 OVC) at MIDDLE TENNESSEE (4-3, 1-0 SBC)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 4, 2012 | Tipoff: 11 a.m. (CT)

Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. | Arena: Murphy Center (11,520)

Radio: Governors Sports Network (David Loos, play-by-play)

Live Stats: www.GoBlueRaiders.com | Live Audio: www.LetsGoPeay.com | ipTV: www.GoBlueRaiders.com

Head Coaches: Austin Peay – Carrie Daniels (Austin Peay, 1996) is 74-121 (.379) in her seventh season as a head coach at Austin Peay. Middle Tennessee – Rick Insell (Middle Tennessee, 1977) is 178-57 (.757) in his eighth season at the school and as a head coach.

Series: MTSU leads, 56-9 (MTSU leads, 28-3 in Murfreesboro) | Streak: MTSU, six wins | Daniels vs. MTSU: 0-6

Lady Govs 2012-13 Basketball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (CT)	Results
Mon, Nov 05	Martin Methodist (EXH)	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.	101 – 67 (W)
Fri, Nov 09	UAB	at Birmingham, Ala.	12:00 p.m.	54 – 72 (L)
Thu, Nov 15	Louisville	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.	52 – 90 (L)
Sun, Nov 18	Binghamton	Clarksville, Tenn.	2:00 p.m.	71 – 67 (W)
UTSA Thanksgiving Classic
Fri, Nov 23	Texas-San Antonio	at San Antonio, Texas	7:00 p.m.	67 – 69 (L)
Sat, Nov 24	William & Mary	at San Antonio, Texas	7:00 p.m.	76 – 88 (L)
Wed, Nov 28	Vanderbilt	at Nashville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.	36 – 67 (L)
Sat, Dec 01	Ball State	Clarksville, Tenn.	5:15 p.m.	79 – 66 (W)
Tue, Dec 04	Middle Tennessee	at Murfreesboro, Tenn.	11:00 a.m.
Sun, Dec 09	St. Catharine College	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:00 p.m.
Mon, Dec 17	Arkansas State	at Jonesboro, Ark.	7:05 p.m.
Fri, Dec 21	Lipscomb	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Dec 29	Alabama A&M	at Huntsville, Ala.	3:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 05	Southeast Missouri *	at Cape Girardeau, Mo.	2:00 p.m.
Mon, Jan 07	UT Martin *	at Martin, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 12	Murray State *	Clarksville, Tenn.	5:15 p.m.
Mon, Jan 14	Morehead State *	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 19	Eastern Illinois *	Clarksville, Tenn.	5:15 p.m.
Mon, Jan 21	SIU Edwardsville *	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 26	Tennessee Tech *	at Cookeville, Tenn.	5:30 p.m.
Mon, Jan 28	Jacksonville State *	at Jacksonville, Ala.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Feb 02	Murray State *	at Murray, Ky.	2:00 p.m.
Mon, Feb 04	Southeast Missouri *	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Feb 09	Tennessee State *	Clarksville, Tenn.	5:15 p.m.
Sat, Feb 16	SIU Edwardsville *	at Edwardsville, Ill.	2:00 p.m.
Mon, Feb 18	Eastern Illinois *	at Charleston, Ill.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Feb 23	Eastern Kentucky *	at Richmond, Ky.	3:00 p.m.
Wed, Feb 27	Belmont *	Clarksville, Tenn.	7:00 p.m.
Sat, Mar 02	UT Martin *	Clarksville, Tenn.	5:15 p.m.
2013 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
Wed, Mar 06	First Round	at Nashville, Tenn.	TBA
Thu, Mar 07	Quarterfinals	at Nashville, Tenn.	TBA
Fri, Mar 08	Semifinals	at Nashville, Tenn.	TBA
Sat, Mar 09	Championship	at Nashville, Tenn.	TBA
2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship
Sat, Mar 23 - Sun, Mar 24	First Round	at TBA	TBA
Mon, Mar 25 - Tue, Mar 26	Second Round	at TBA	TBA
Sat, Mar 30 - Sun, Mar 31	Regional Semifinals	at TBA	TBA
Mon, Apr 01 - Tue, Apr 02	Regional Finals	at TBA	TBA
Sun, Apr 07	National Semifinals	at New Orleans, La.	TBA
Tue, Apr 09	National Championship	at New Orleans, La.	TBA

* Conference Games

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