OVC Players of the Week - Feb. 26
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Crystal Fuller, Jr., P, 5'11 - Huntington, Tennessee - UT Martin
Fuller recorded back-to-back double-doubles as UT Martin went 2-0 last week. At IPFW, she recorded a career-high 23 points and brought down 11 boards. Fuller shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the line in the win over IPFW. She poured in 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over Murray State. Fuller also drove to the basket drawing a foul with only five seconds remaining in the game versus Murray State that led to a pair of game winning free-throws.
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Crystal Jones, Jr., G, 5'8 - Indianapolis, Indiana - Eastern Kentucky
Jones led the team in scoring over the two games, averaging 17.5 points in Eastern Kentucky's two wins. She scored 23 points versus Tennessee State and grabbed eight rebounds while shooting 9-for-16 from the field. Against Austin Peay, Jones scored 12 points and led the team with three steals.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Amber Kirkpatrick, Fr., F, 6'1 - Lawrenceville, Georgia - Eastern Kentucky
Kirkpatrick averaged a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds as Eastern Kentucky went 2-0 last week. She scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while shooting 7-of-11 from the field in the victory over Austin Peay. Against Tennessee State, Kirkpatrick recorded her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
2006-07 OVC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM NOTES
AUSTIN PEAY (9-11 OVC, 10-19 Overall): Austin Peay fell to Eastern Kentucky, 76-69, before picking up a 74-66 win over Morehead State to earn the eighth seed in the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. Senior Saundra Hale posted a career-high 24 points versus Morehead State. Junior Amber Bacon averaged 15.5 points and led the team with senior Alicia Watson in rebounds (6.5 rpg). Watson finished the regular-season with the Lady Govs highest scoring average, posting 9.9 points per game. Junior Kellea Reeves led the squad in scoring with 281 total points (9.7 ppg). Eight-seeded Austin Peay will travel to No. 1 Southeast Missouri in first round action on Tuesday.
EASTERN ILLINOIS (7-13 OVC, 10-19 Overall): Eastern Illinois defeated Jacksonville State, 82-76, for the first time ever, before falling to Samford, 70-49, to end the 2006-07 season. The loss to Samford marked the first time the home team has won in the six meetings between the two squads. Freshman Ashley Thomas scored in double-figures in both games, ending the season having netted 10-plus points in five straight games. Sophomore Rachel Galligan posted her eighth double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) and scored 10 points in the loss to Samford. She finished the year having scored in double-figures in 28 of EIU's 29 games. Her 499 points and 240 rebounds rank seventh and fifth, respectively, on the EIU single-season lists. EIU scored its 2,000th point of the season in the JSU game, marking the first time the Panthers have reached that plateau since the 1990 campaign. The Panthers also broke the program record for free throws made in the JSU win, marking the second year in a row they have eclipsed that record. Freshman Jessica Huffman broke the EIU freshman steals mark versus the Gamecocks and finished the year averaging an EIU freshman-best 16.9 points per game. She broke nine EIU freshman record including points, points per game, field goals made, field goals attempted, free throws made, free throws attempted, three-pointers made, three-pointers attempted and steals. Eastern Illinois finished the season with a 10-19 overall record and a 7-13 OVC mark.
EASTERN KENTUCKY (9-11 OVC, 12-17 Overall): Eastern Kentucky defeated Austin Peay, 76-69, and Tennessee State, 80-71, to earn the seventh seed in the upcoming league tournament. Junior Crystal Jones led the team in scoring for the week, netting 12 points versus Austin Peay and 23 against Tennessee State. She also tallied six assists and four steals over the two games. Freshman Amber Kirkpatrick averaged 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds last week. Kirkpatrick scored a team-high 16 points versus APSU and posted her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds at TSU. Junior Ashley Cazee scored her 1,000th career points in the win over the Lady Tigers. Seventh-seeded Eastern Kentucky will travel to No. 2 Murray State for first round action on Tuesday.
JACKSONVILLE STATE (4-16 OVC, 7-22 Overall): Jacksonville State wrapped up its season with a pair of losses last week, falling to Eastern Illinois (82-76) and Southeast Missouri (85-50). Freshman Jolie Efezokhae recorded her third double-double of the year versus Eastern Illinois with 16 points and 13 rebounds. She finished the two games averaging 12.0 points and 11.5 rebounds. JSU started four freshmen against EIU for the first time this season. The four freshmen combined for 48 of the team's 76 freshman with three reaching double-digits. Freshmen Eren McMichael and Erica West recorded career-highs of 19 points and 13 points, respectively. The Gamecocks finished the season with a 7-22 overall record while going 4-16 in the OVC.
MOREHEAD STATE (13-7 OVC, 14-15 Overall): Morehead State split a pair of OVC games this week, defeating Tennessee State (77-65) and falling to Austin Peay (74-66) to earn the third seed in the upcoming OVC tournament. As the third seed, the Eagles will host No. 6 UT Martin. It will mark the first time since the 2001-02 season that Morehead State will host a first-round game, ironically the opponent that season was also sixth-seeded UT Martin. Freshman Brandy Rayburn led the Eagles last week, averaging 15.0 points over the two games. She tied a career-high with 16 points at Tennessee State and added 14 at Austin Peay. Senior Holly Williams posted her first double-double of the year with 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds versus TSU, while Brittany Bass recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 13 rebounds at APSU. Junior Tara Combs made six more three-pointers last week and has moved to fifth place in career treys at Morehead State with 138. Third-seeded Morehead State will entertain No. 6 UT Martin in first round action on Tuesday.
MURRAY STATE (15-5 OVC, 19-8 Overall): Murray State defeated Tennessee Tech, 80-79, in overtime, before falling to UT Martin, 62-60, to earn the second seed in the upcoming Conference tournament. This marks first time since 2000 and the second time overall that the Lady Racers have hosted a first round game. Senior Joi Scott scored 19 points and had eight rebounds against Tennessee State. Junior Sheleea Petty scored 17.0 points per game last week while also tallying 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists per outing. Sophomore Ashley Nicole Hayes averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over the two games, including a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) against Tennessee Tech. Second-seeded Murray State will host No. 7 Eastern Kentucky in first round action on Tuesday. The last time the Lady Racers hosted a first round game they faced EKU.
SAMFORD (12-8 OVC, 17-12 Overall): Samford fell to Southeast Missouri, 66-58, before defeating Eastern Illinois, 70-49, to earn the fourth seed in the upcoming league tournament. Senior Veronica Pike led the team with 24 points and seven rebounds in the win over Eastern Illinois. She finished the week averaging 16.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Monica Maxell netted 10 points in the win over EIU. Also against the Panthers, senior Chelsee Insell became just the third player in Samford's women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will host No. 5 Tennessee Tech in first round action on Tuesday.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI (16-4 OVC, 21-7 Overall): Southeast Missouri defeated Samford (66-58) and Jacksonville State (85-50) to earn its second straight OVC regular-season title. Sophomore Tarina Nixon tied a career-high with 22 points, while connecting on 4-of-5 from three-point range against Samford. She followed that up with an 18-point performance at Jacksonville State. Nixon has moved to fourth place on Southeast Missouri's career 3-pointers made list with 81. Senior Lachelle Lyles posted her eighth game with 20 or more rebounds this season after tallying 21 at Jacksonville State. With 467 rebounds so far this year, Lyles has set a new OVC single-season record. Top-seeded Southeast Missouri will host No. 8 Austin Peay in first round action on Tuesday.
TENNESSEE STATE (4-16 OVC, 7-22 Overall): Tennessee State concluded its season with a pair of losses last week, falling to Morehead State (77-65) and Eastern Kentucky (80-71). Sophomore Oby Okafor averaged 21.0 points and 9.5 rebounds over the two games. She tallied 27 points and eight rebounds to go along with two steals against Morehead State. Okafor picked up her ninth double-double of the season versus Eastern Kentucky with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Nikki Rumph scored in double-figures in both games, netting 12 points against Morehead State and 14 versus Eastern Kentucky. Tennessee State finished the year with a 7-22 overall mark and a 4-16 OVC record.
TENNESSEE TECH (11-9 OVC, 12-17 Overall): Tennessee Tech fell to Murray State, 80-79, in overtime. Tech will be fifth seed in the upcoming Conference tournament. Senior Kendall Cavin posted a team-high 22 points, shooting 60 percent from the field. Junior Kristina Tyler added 14 points, nine rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Junior Cara Reed and sophomore Meagan Lyons also hit double figures, scoring 12 points apiece. Fifth-seeded Tennessee Tech will travel to No. 4 Samford for first round action on Tuesday.
UT MARTIN (10-10 OVC, 16-13 Overall): UT Martin picked up wins over IPFW (71-59) and Murray State (62-60) to earn the sixth seed in the OVC Tournament. Junior Crystal Fuller recorded back-to-back double-doubles last week. She tallied a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win over IPFW and followed that up with a 19-point, 10-rebound performance versus Murray State. Freshman Nicole Holman netted a career-best 23 points at IPFW, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Against Murray State, Holman netted a trio of three-point buckets on her way to an 11 point performance. Senior Andreika Jackson will miss the rest of the season due to an injury she suffered at Tennessee Tech. Sixth-seeded UT Martin will travel to No. 3 Morehead State for first round action on Tuesday.
CATCH THE TOURNEY ON OVCSPORTS.TV: Catch the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on OVCSports.TV for just $19.95. The first-round and semifinal games will be seen live while the finals will be available on-demand. In addition to the games, the post game press conferences as well as the postseason awards ceremony will be available on-demand.
2007 O'REILLY OVC TOURNEY FIELD SET: The 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament field is set with Southeast Missouri earning the top seed. The Redhawks, who won their second straight regular-season title, will host No. 8 Austin Peay while Murray State is the second seed and will welcome No. 7 Eastern Kentucky in the first round. In other first-round action, third-seeded Morehead State hosts No. 6 UT Martin and No. 4 Samford entertains No. 5 Tennessee Tech.
OVC REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPS, AGAIN: Southeast Missouri earned its second straight OVC regular-season title with wins over Samford and Jacksonville State last week. The Redhawks earned the title outright after sharing the crown with Tennessee Tech last year.
FROM PLAYER TO COACH: Austin Peay's Carrie Daniels is one of three OVC coaches in the tournament this year that has also played in the tourney. Daniels was part of the 1996 APSU women's team that captured the OVC Tournament crown and made the team's first appearance to the NCAA Tournament. UT Martin's Tara Tansil was part of the 1995 Skyhawks team that made their first trip to the OVC Tournament. Morehead State men's skipper Donnie Tyndall is also returning as a coach after playing in three straight tournaments from 1991-93.