UPCOMING SCHEDULE
MONDAY, JANUARY 5
Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay* - 5:15 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Morehead State at Tennessee State* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Eastern Illinois at Tennessee Tech* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Southeast Missouri at Jacksonville State* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Murray State at UT Martin* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8
Tennessee Tech at Morehead State* - 4:15 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Jacksonville State at Eastern Kentucky* - 4:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Tennesssee State at Murray State* - 5:15 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Austin Peay at UT Martin* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10
Jacksonville State at Morehead State* - 1:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Tennessee Tech at Eastern Kentucky* - 3:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Tennessee State at UT Martin* - 4:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Austin Peay at Murray State* - 4:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri* - 5:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
* - OVC Contest
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
THIS WEEK'S OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Jan. 5
PLAYER
Phyllisha Mitchell, F ? Sr., 5'10 ? Memphis, Tenn. ? UT Martin
Mitchell averaged 13.5 points and 19.5 rebounds per game as she helped UT Martin go 1-1 at the Ole Miss Holiday Classic. She also recorded 12 steals during the tourney and was named to the all-tournament team. In the game against Rice, she set a career-high with six seals while pulling down 18 boards and scoring 11 points. In the win over Northwestern State, she recorded six steals, 21 rebounds and 16 points. She currently ranks third nationally with 13.3 rebounds per game this season.
Others Nominated: April Thomas, Austin Peay; Rachel Galligan, Eastern Illinois; Chynna Bozeman, Morehead State; Kendra Appling, Tennessee State
NEWCOMER
Sienna Forney, G ? Jr., 5'6 ? Greenville, Tenn. ? UT Martin
Forney exploded for a pair of career-high games at the Ole Miss Holiday Classic, earning her a slot on the all-tournament team. In the game against Rice, Forney led the Skyhawks in scoring with a career-high 16 points. Forney also picked up a career-best five steals. She followed that up setting a new career-mark with 20 points in the Northwestern State game.
Others Nominated: Sonjia Hoston, Eastern Kentucky; Tiffany Hamilton, Morehead State; Jasmine Smith, Tennessee State; Vivian Nwosu, Tennessee Tech
FRESHMAN
Jasmine Rayner, F ? Fr., 5'10 ? Memphis, Tenn. ? Austin Peay
Rayner nearly posted her season's first double-double at No. 2 North Carolina, scoring a team-best 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 28 minutes. She was 7-of-13 from the field in Chapel Hill and five of her nine rebounds came on the offensive glass. She had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 15 minutes against Morehead State. Rayner was the team's third leading scorer for the week, behind April Thomas and Nicole Jamen, the team's other two forwards.
Others Nominated: Kayla Drake, Eastern Kentucky
TEAM snapshots
AUSTIN PEAY LADY GOVS (2-1, 6-8): Austin Peay split a pair of contests last week, losing at No. 2 North Carolina, 93-61, before returning home to defeat Morehead State, 73-52. The win over Morehead State was Austin Peay's third straight home victory, the Lady Govs are now 4-1 at the Dunn Center this season. Senior April Thomas had a double-double in each game last week, averaging 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. Freshman Jasmine Rayner nearly posted her season's first double-double at North Carolina, scoring a team-best 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The Lady Govs have brought down 40 or more rebounds in five of their last six games. They are averaging 46.5 boards per game, including 19.5 offensive rebounds per game in those six contests. Austin Peay will host Eastern Kentucky on Monday before traveling to UT Martin on Thursday and Murray State on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (3-0, 9-5): Eastern Illinois fell to Illinois State, 75-73, before picking up a 71-58 win at Jacksonville State. The win over JSU ended a seven-game road losing streak for the Panthers. Senior Rachel Galligan scored 27 points in the loss to Illinois State and followed that up with a 12-point, 11-rebound effort versus Jacksonville State. It was her third double-double of the season. Senior Ellen Canale tied her season-high with 16 points at ISU and then scored 15 at JSU. She has reached double-figures in a career-best five straight games. Junior Dominique Sims matched her career-high with 19 points versus the Gamecocks. Senior Megan Edwards has made 24 consecutive free throws and junior Ashley Thomas has made 19 straight. Both players have not missed since the season opener. Eastern Illinois will travel to Tennessee Tech on Monday and Southeast Missouri on Saturday. Both games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
EASTERN KENTUCKY LADY COLONELS (1-2, 4-7):
Eastern Kentucky split a pair of games last week, defeating Bluefield State, 70-37, and falling at Tennessee State, 61-52. In the win over Bluefield, nine of the 10 Lady Colonels that suited up for the game scored at least two points and all 10 grabbed at lease one rebound. Junior Sonjia Hoston, freshman Kayla Drake and sophomore Cherie White all scored a game-high 15 points in the win over Bluefield. The 37 points allowed against Bluefield were the fewest points allowed by an opponent since 1981. In the loss to TSU, Eastern Kentucky committed 33 turnovers. Junior Collette Cole posted a double-double against the Lady Tigers with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Drake added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists versus TSU. Eastern Kentucky will travel to Austin Peay on Monday before returning home to host Jacksonville State on Thursday and Tennessee Tech on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (0-2, 3-9): Jacksonville State dropped two contests last week, falling at NC State, 76-38, and losing at home to Eastern Illinois, 71-58. Junior Jolie Efezokhae is 121 points away from becoming the 10th member of JSU's 1,000 point club after her 13-point outing against Eastern Illinois. The 13-point performance was Efezokhae's 45th double-figure scoring effort, ranking seventh on JSU's all-time list. The Gamecocks hope to snap a six-game losing skid to OVC foes as they host Southeast Missouri on Monday and travel to Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and Morehead State on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (2-1, 8-7): Morehead State concluded the Louisville Downtown Marriott Classic by defeating New Hampshire, 73-46, and falling to Central Michigan, 95-88. The Eagles also dropped a 73-52 contest at Austin Peay. Junior Brittany Pittman had 22 blocks last week and continues to lead the nation with 91 total blocks this year. With eight rejections in the Central Michigan game, she broke the school career record for blocks with her 206th. She now needs just 20 more to break the OVC record of 233 held by Austin Peay's Gerlonda Hardin. Sophomore Chynna Bozeman led the team with 17.7 points per game and scored a career-high 29 against CMU. Junior Tiffany Hamilton had a team-best 13 three-pointers last week and scored 39 of her 44 points outside the arc. Morehead State visits Tennessee State Monday and will host Tennessee Tech Thursday and Jacksonville State Saturday. All games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
MURRAY STATE RACERS (1-1, 6-6): Murray State has had the last 15 days off and returns to action on Monday as it travels to UT Martin. The Racers will also host Tennessee State on Thursday and Austin Peay on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV. Senior Amber Guffey was named to the 2008-09 Naismith Trophy Watch List. Guffey currently leads the Racers in scoring with 20.3 points per game.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS (1-2, 5-8): Southeast Missouri split a pair of games last week, falling to Missouri, 60-31, and defeating Tennessee Tech, 56-41. Senior Crysta Glenn averaged 10.0 points for the Redhawks last week, including putting up 15 in the win over Tennessee Tech. Glenn also recorded three steals over the two games. Southeast Missouri will travel to Jacksonville State on Monday before returning home to host Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Both games can be seen on OVCSports.TV
SIU EDWARDSVILLE COUGARS (1-16): SIU Edwardsville fell to Bowling Green, 74-58, and at Toledo, 80-58, last week. Jenny Wuest led the Cougars in scoring in both games last week averaging 14.0 points. She scored 15 versus BGSU and followed that up with a 13-point performance at UT. SIUE will have next week off and will return to action on Jan. 14 as it hosts Robert Morris.
TENNESSEE STATE LADY TIGERS (2-1, 6-8): Tennessee State picked up a pair of wins last week, defeating Grambling, 80-78, and Eastern Kentucky, 61-52. Senior Kendra Appling led the team with 20 points and four assists versus Grambling. She followed that up with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals against Eastern Kentucky. Sophomore Jasmine Smith recorded her first double-double of her career with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Grambling. She added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in the EKU win. The Lady Tigers will host Morehead State on Monday and travel to Murray State on Thursday and UT Martin on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (1-1, 3-10): Tennessee Tech fell to Memphis, 63-61, and Southeast Missouri, 56-41, last week. Tech led or was tied for the first 39 minutes against Memphis, the Tigers took the first lead of the game with under three second to play and held on to earn the victory. The loss to Redhawks marked the fourth straight loss at home for the Golden Eagles. Junior Vivian Nwosu averaged 9.5 points over the two games, including a 12-point performance against Southeast Missouri. Tech will host Eastern Illinois on Monday and travel to Morehead State on Thursday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. All games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
UT MARTIN SKYHAWKS (0-2, 2-10): UT Martin fell to Rice, 66-57, and defeated Northwestern State, 59-53, at the Ole Miss Holiday Classic. The win over Northwestern State snapped the Skyhawks eight-game losing streak. Senior Phyllisha Mitchell was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 13.5 points and 19.5 rebounds. She also added 12 steals over the two games. Junior Sienna Forney recorded 18 points per game, including 20 points in the win over Northwestern State. The Skyhawks will host Murray State on Monday, Austin Peay on Thursday and Tennessee Tech on Saturday. All three games can be seen on OVCSports.TV.