MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State women's basketball team is set for its Ohio Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup Thursday with third-seeded Tennessee State. The game time has been altered slightly due to weather concerns. The contest will tip off 25 minutes following the game between No. 5 Jacksonville State and No. 4 Belmont, which is now slated for 2 p.m. ET.
Morehead State (12-17) is the sixth seed for the event. The Eagles are making their first tournament appearance since 2011-12. Tennessee State (16-13) defeated MSU twice this season.
The winner of the game will face the winner of the matchup between No. 2 SIU Edwardsville and No. 7 Austin Peay, who play on Wednesday afternoon. That game is set for 3 p.m. ET Friday.
Ways to follow the game:LIVE VIDEO (OVCDN | ESPN3.COM) | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE AUDIO (mobile) | LIVE STATS | TWITTERAll Morehead State contests are broadcast on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Jason Blanton calling the action. The game can be heard on the airwaves on the flagship station, WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead. Audio will also be available on MSUEagles.com (computers), m.Morehead.EZStream.com (mobile devices) and the Eagle Empire app. Live stats and live video links are also available right here on MSUEagles.com (the game will be live on the OVC Digital Network, ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN app). Justin Seamon will call play-by-play, and Brittany Jackson will provide analysis for the webstream. Periodic updates will also be on Twitter and Facebook.
Releases and pre-game information:OVC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | MOREHEAD STATE (PDF) | TENNESSEE STATE | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCEGame notes heading into the contest:
The Series with Tennessee State
• Morehead State leads the series 30-23. TSU has won seven straight.
Tourney Tidbits
• Morehead State is 10-21 all-time in OVC Tournament games.
• MSU is 1-5 in program history in games at Municipal Auditorium.
• The last tournament win for MSU was 2011 (82-67 over No. 6 Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals).
• In the eight-team format (started in 1993-94), MSU has advanced to the semifinal round just five times and never reached the title game.
Simply the Best
• Senior guard Almesha Jones is Morehead State's career assist leader with 582. She broke the previous mark of 499 on Jan. 24.
• Jones set the MSU single-season assist record on Feb. 7 against Tennessee State. She now has 239 assists this season.
• Jones ranks seventh on the OVC career chart and third on the league's single-season list. She has the most assists for an OVC player since the 1985-86 campaign.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
• Almesha Jones has 1,424 points in 116 career games and is ranked 13th in scoring at MSU. She ranks tied for fourth in program history in games played.
• Jones ranks second in the nation in total assists (239) and second in assists per game (8.2). She has nine double-digit assist games and six "point-assist" double-doubles.
• Jones has been named First-Team All-OVC by the league and by College Sports Madness.
• Jones was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, honoring the nation's top Division I point guard.
Fab Frosh
• Freshman forward Eriel McKee has scored in double figures in 21 of the 26 collegiate games she's appeared in.
• McKee has eight double-doubles and 10 double-figure rebounding games.
• She has recorded the highest scoring average (11.8) for an MSU freshman since all-time leading scorer Chynna Bozeman put in 12.2 per outing in 2007-08.
Steele-ing the Show
• Shay Steele leads the OVC in blocked shots (52). She is now tied for fifth in career blocks (76) at Morehead State.
• Steele has seven 20-point games this year.
• She has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games.
• Steele averaged 24 points per game against Tennessee State in the two meetings this season.
