Women's Hoops wraps up season at JSU on Saturday afternoon

Game Notes | JSU Game Notes | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
 
MOREHEAD, Ky.— Morehead State women's basketball will play its final game of the season on Saturday against Jacksonville State at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
 
The Eagles (9-20, 3-12 OVC) enter the contest as the No. 1 team in the nation in blocked shots with 188, led by junior forward Shay Steele with 59. Steele sits atop the OVC in blocks, followed by sophomore forward teammate  Brooke Todd at No. 2 with 54. Steele is coming off a five-block performance against Tennessee State, and as a team, Morehead State swatted 11 shots.
 
JSU (10-17, 5-10) has lost four straight, including a 50-40 loss to Tennessee State on Feb. 20. Junior guard Briana Benson is the only Gamecock who averages double-digit scoring with 11.7 points per game. That's compared to Morehead State with five players averaging double digits in the points department.
 
Entering Saturday's game, both Morehead State and JSU have been eliminated from postseason play in the OVC tournament.
 
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 (188), blocked shots per game (6.5), offensive rebounds per game (17), rebounds (1,319), rebounds per game (45.4), scoring offense (79.8), steals (296), steals per game (10.2), and turnovers forced (19.2).
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. JSU
Four Eagles finished in double figures, led by senior guard Natalie Greenwell's 19 points, as the Eagles won 67-63 on Jan. 25 in Johnson Arena over Jacksonville State. The Eagles tallied 32 points in the paint and had eight blocked shots on the night, four of which came from junior forward Shay Steele. MSU hit 19-of-22 from the free throw line for 87 percent and recorded 10 steals on the night. Greenwell scored a team-high 19 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Steele finished the game 8-of-12 from the field, while scoring 17 points. Junior Brianna McQueen added 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and five assists. Freshman guard Miranda Crockett finished with 10 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
 
STEELE PUTTING UP POINTS
In nine of 29 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.
 
No. 1 IN THE NATION IN BLOCKS
The Eagles rank first in the nation with 188 blocks and fourth in blocked shots per game with 6.5. Forwards junior Shay Steele (59) and sophomore Brooke Todd (54) 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.

GOING FOR A RECORD
The Eagles enter Saturday's finale needing just five more blocked shots to set a team single-season record. The mark of 202 was set in 2008-09, including a nation-best 164 swats that season from forward Brittany Pittman. 
 
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 (929), and is second in rebounding (194) and fourth in points per game (12.9).
 
RACKING UP THE POINTS
Morehead State averages 79.8 points per game, which ranks 10th 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 third in the country with 1,319 rebounds and seventh in rebounds per game with 45.4. 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 14th nationally with 296 steals and is 27th in steals per game with 10.2. Eriel McKee is 10th in the nation with 80 steals, putting her in the No. 3 position for most steals in a season at Morehead State. Freshman Miranda Crockett has recorded 63 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 437 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 31st in the nation. In 12 contests, the Eagles have forced 20 or more turnovers.