Women's Hoops to host TSU in home finale on Wednesday night

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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Morehead State women's basketball concludes its home schedule against Tennessee State at Johnson Arena on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Eagles (9-19, 3-11) come in with the the eighth ranked offense in the nation and are led in scoring by junior guard Brianna McQueen with 15.2 points per game. She is currently on a 13-game double-digit scoring streak and had a season-high 23 points against Tennessee Tech on Feb. 17.
 
With the loss last week against Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State was officially eliminated from the OVC tournament, but they still have two OVC games remaining.
 
TSU (11-16, 6-8) is coming off a 50-40 victory against Jacksonville State at the Gentry Center. Forward I'mani Davis scored a game-high 18 points against the Gamecocks and is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game.
 
The Tigers have won 10 straight against Morehead State. The last time the Eagles were victorious against TSU was Jan. 27, 2011, when point guard Courtney Lumpkin scored in the final seconds for an 84-82 win at Johnson Arena.
 
The contest will be available on the OVC Digital Network. It will also broadcast on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Jason Blanton calling all of the action. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM and several affiliates throughout eastern Kentucky. A live audio stream can be found on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.
 
LEADING THE OVC
The Eagles lead the OVC in nine statistical categories, including blocks (177), blocked shots per game (6.3), offensive rebounds per game (17), rebounds (1,271), rebounds per game (45.3), scoring offense (80.5), steals (288), steals per game (10.3), and turnovers forced (19.3).
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. TSU
The Morehead State women's basketball team fell 78-76 to Tennessee State on a last second buzzer beater by Brianna Lawrence on Feb. 6. Trailing 76-74 with 11 seconds to go, junior guard Brianna McQueen drove the lane and tied the game with a layup with 4.5 seconds to go. On the next possession, TSU's Lawrence went the length of the court and knocked down a 15-footer as the buzzer sounded, giving the Tigers the 78-76 win. Morehead State dominated the glass, outrebounding the Tigers, 36-26, and scored 20 second chance points. But, they committed 17 turnovers, 11 of which came in the first half, and allowed TSU to shoot 12-of-25 from three-point range.
 
STEELE PUTTING UP POINTS
In nine of 28 games forward Shay Steele has led the team in scoring, which leads the team. Eriel McKee has led the Eagles in scoring six times, followed by Brianna McQueen with five.
 
PREPARE FOR THE BLOCK PARTY
The Eagles rank third in the nation with 177 blocks and sixth in blocked shots per game with 6.3. Forwards junior Shay Steele (54) and sophomore Brooke Todd  (53) are both ranked in the top 50 and sit atop the OVC in blocked shots.. MSU tied a school record and an OVC record with 16 blocks in the win over Mount St. Joseph on Nov. 23.
 
CROCKETT KEEPS COLLECTING OVC WEEKLY HONORS
Freshman guard Miranda Crockett has caught the attention of the OVC, as she has been awarded OVC Freshman of the Week on six different occasions, including as recent as the week of Feb 2.  Crockett leads the team in assists (108) and minutes played (893), and is second in rebounding (182) and fourth in points per game (12.9).
 
RACKING UP THE POINTS
Morehead State averages 80.5 points per game, which ranks eighth in the nation and first in the OVC.  MSU has reached the century scoring mark four times and they are 3-1 in those games.
 
CLAIMING THE BOARDS
The Eagles rank fifth in the country with 1,271 rebounds and seventh in rebounds per game with 45.3. MSU is also averaging 17 offensive rebounds per game, making them the ninth best offensive rebounding team in the nation.
 
SECOND-CHANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Thirty-seven percent of the Eagles' rebounds are of the offensive variety, and they average 16.4 second-chance points per game.
 
PAINT THE INSIDE BLUE AND GOLD
On average, the Eagles are scoring 36.7 points per game in the paint, and their opponents are averaging 33.9 per game.
 
GET EVERYONE INVOLVED
The MSU bench has been productive throughout the year, averaging 17.2 points per game.
 
MCKEE AND THE EAGLES SWIPING THE BALL AWAY
Morehead State ranks 15th nationally with 288 steals and is 23rd in steals per game with 10.3. Eriel McKee is 11th in the nation with 78 steals, tying her with B.J Bradford for most steals in a season. Freshman Miranda Crockett has recorded 62 steals breaking the record for steals in a season by a freshman, formerly held by Heidi Daulton when she recorded 55 swipes in the 1998-99 campaign.
 
TEAMMATES FINDING TEAMMATES
Morehead State has dished out 428 assists, which ranks 35th in the country. The Eagles have accumulated 10 or more assists in 25 of 28 games and have surpassed 20 assists in five games.
 
FORCING MISTAKES
With 19.3 forced turnovers per game, the Eagles rank 37th in the nation. In 12 contests, the Eagles have forced 20 or more turnovers.