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MOREHEAD, Ky. – After seeing the game postponed earlier in the season, Morehead State women's basketball is set to travel across the Commonwealth for a Monday matinee with in-state rival Murray State. The Eagles (2-6; 1-3 OVC) and Racers (4-4; 1-2) were originally scheduled to meet on Jan. 2 before the game was postponed and later reschedule for Monday at 5 p.m. ET.

Morehead State enters the meeting coming off a 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference weekend, defeating Tennessee Tech last Thursday 65-62, before falling to Jacksonville State 69-56, Saturday. The Eagle's victory Thursday marked the 100th career victory at Morehead State for head coach Greg Todd, making him the third coach in program history to reach 100 victories at MSU.

In the two game, junior Ellie Jo Johnson led the Eagles in scoring, posting double-figures in both of Morehead State's games, including a season-high 15 points versus Jacksonville State Saturday. She averaged 14.0 points on the weekend, shooting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the floor, 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free throw line, and 100 percent (1-of-1) from three.

On the boards, redshirt sophomore Gabby Crawford averaged 14.5 rebounds a game and 11.5 points per contest to average a double-double for the week. Against Tennessee Tech, she established career-highs in points, rebounds, and blocks, producing 17 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks.

Morehead State enters Monday's contest as the NCAA's leader in blocked shots per game, averaging 8.2 rejections per game. The Eagles also rank second in the nation in total blocks, turning away 66 shots in eight games. Sophomore Ariel Kirkwood ranks third in the country in blocks per game and fifth in the NCAA in total blocks, blocking 29 shots in eight games, an average of 3.62 per contest.

Monday's game airs on ESPN+ and the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Eagle Sports Network (MSUEagles.com and WIVY-96.3 FM).

INSIDE THE SERIES
Records: Morehead State (2-6; 1-3 OVC) | Murray State (4-4; 1-2 OVC)
Series: Morehead State leads 46-41
Last Five Meetings: Feb. 15, 2020 (MUR 83, MOR 75) | Feb. 28, 2019 (MOR 80, MUR 71) | Jan. 3, 2019 (MOR 83, MUR 61) | Jan. 25, 2018 (MOR 82, MUR 80) | Feb. 01, 2017 (MOR 73, MUR 59)

NOTABLE
Scoring a season-high 15 points versus Jacksonville State, Ellie Jo Johnson has scored 10 or more points in four straight games. The streak is the longest for an Eagle since Jazzmyn Elston closed the 2019-20 season scoring double-figures in each of the season's final five games.

Grabbing 11 boards against Jacksonville State, Gabby Crawford has pulled down double-figure rebounds in three consecutive games. Her streak is the longest for an Eagle since Lala Humphries grabbed 10 or more boards versus Eastern Illinois (Jan. 11, 2020), Tennessee State (Jan. 16, 2020), and Belmont (Jan. 18, 2020) during the 2019-20 campaign.

Through eight games this season, Morehead State has rejected 66 shots, averaging a staggering 8.3 blocks per game. The Eagles lead the country in blocks per game while ranking second in the nation in total blocks.

Much like Morehead State, Ariel Kirkwood ranks highly in the NCAA in blocked shots and blocked shots per game, ranking fifth and third in the nation, respectively, in the two categories. Overall, she's turned away 29 shots in eight games, an average of 3.62 blocks per game.

Entering the week, Morehead State stands as the Ohio Valley Conference's top shot-blocking team, being the only program in the OVC to rank three players in the league's top-10 in blocked shots per game. In addition to Kirkwood leading the league, Crawford (third; 1.62), and Lauren Carter (sixth; 1.25) also rank highly for the Eagles.

In addition to placing three players in the top-10 in the conference in blocked shots per game, Morehead State also has five players ranked in the top-15 in the league in shot-blocking. The Eagles are the only team to feature three or more players in the top-15 with the next closest team featuring two players.

Under head coach Greg Todd, Morehead State has consistently been the top blocking team in the OVC, being the only team to exceed 100 or more blocks a season in each of the past six seasons while also finishing lower than the league's leader in total blocks and blocks per game once apiece, in 2014-15 and 2017-18, respectively. During the Greg Todd-era, the Eagles have blocked 1,119 shots in 196 games, an average of 5.7 blocks per game.

In addition to shot-blocking, Morehead State is also one of the OVC's top rebounding teams, ranking second in the conference in rebounds per game and fourth in total rebounds. Overall, the Eagles have grabbed 330 rebounds in eight games, an average of 41.25 rebounds per game, giving the Eagles a +2.8 rebounding margin that ranks third in the conference.

As is the case with shot-blocking, Morehead State is also the only team in the OVC to feature three players ranked in the league's top-10 in rebounds per game. Crawford leads the conference in rebounding, pulling down 9.0 boards a game while Kirkwood (8.1) ranks seventh and Carter (7.6) ranks ninth.

With both Crawford and Kirkwood averaging eight or more rebounds per game, Morehead State is the only team in the league with two players grabbing eight or more rebounds per contest. Adding Carter's 7.6 boards per contest, the Eagles become the only team in the conference with three players pulling down seven or more rebounds per game.

Reaching the free throw line 17 times versus Jacksonville State, Morehead State converted 15-of-17 attempts, posting an 88.2 percent clip from the charity stripe. The game marked the highest single-game free throw percentage for the Eagles this season and the fourth time the team had exceeded 80 percent from the free throw line.

As a team, Morehead State ranks second in the OVC with an average of 20.75 trips to the free throw line a game while ranking fourth in both free throw attempts and free throws made. Crawford leads the league in both free throw attempts (55) and free throws made (42) and leads the conference with an average of 6.88 attempts per game and 5.25 makes per game.

Saturday, Morehead State held Jacksonville State to 5-of-20 shooting from behind the three-point arc, good for a 25 percent clip. It marked the sixth time this season the Eagles have held their opponent under a 30 percent shooting percentage from three. As a team, Morehead State ranks second in the OVC and 27th in the NCAA in three-point field goal defense, permitting opponents to hit 24.3 percent from three.

With a victory last Thursday against Tennessee Tech, Morehead State head coach Greg Todd earned his 100th career victory at Morehead State. In reaching 100 victories at MSU, Todd becomes the third coach in program history to reach 100 victories as Eagle head coach, joining Mickey Wells (156) and Loretta Marlow (110) with the honor.