Women's Basketball | 11/22/2021 1:40:00 PM

 
ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University women's basketball program hosts Murray State University Tuesday morning for the annual Jessie Harris Education Day, which will double as its home opener.

What You Need to Know 
 

• Time and Date: Tuesday, November 23 (11 a.m.)

 

• Live Stats: N/A

 

• Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/MVSUsports

 

• Audio: http://www.gwoodlive.com/ (Lee Hall & Joshua Davis)

 

• Tickets: Free Admission

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) | Murray State (3-1, 0-0 OVC)

 

• Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – R.W. Harrison HPER Complex

 

• Series History: Murray State Leads 6-1

 

• Last Meeting: December 8, 2020 | Murray State 85, Mississippi Valley State 60 | CFSB Center (Murray, Kentucky)

 

• Winning Streak: Murray State (W4) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: December 2, 1994 (75-67)

 
Mississippi Valley State Overview
 
Head Coach Walker-Johnson and company have been one of the better free throw shooting teams in the nation during the early going, ranking 11th at 82.9%. They also have committed just 42 turnovers to place top-30 nationwide and top-35 for fewest fouls committed with 46.
 
Ronni Williams has been the best in the SWAC from the charity stripe through two contests, connecting on a league-high 87.5% of her freebies while averaging the third-most minutes per game (34.52).
 
After her 23-point explosion in the previous outing at UAB, Zakiya Mahoney fronts the Delta Devilettes in points per game (14), free throws made (11) and field-goal percentage (32%) to go along with the sixth-best steals per game rate in the SWAC (2.0).
 
Mikayla Etienne has been a thief on the defensive end of the floor for the ladies from Itta Bena, swiping a conference-high 2.5 steals per night as well as leading the club in rebounds per game (6.5), assists (3) and three-pointers (3) while joining Mahoney in being the only MVSU players averaging double-figure scoring (10).
 
Scouting The Opponent: Murray State Racers
 
Murray State has opened the campaign by winning three of its first four over Asbury, Cumberlands (Kentucky) and Chattanooga with its only defeat coming on the road by just six to Missouri (76-70).
 
The Racers have high expectations as they were picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Preseason All-Conference selections Macey Turley and Katelyn Young.
 
The women from Kentucky are dominant in the post, coming into the game third in the NCAA regarding defensive rebounds per game (34.8), seventh for rebound margin (18.0) and 14th in total rebounds per game (47.75).
 
Young and Turley have been a dynamic one-two scoring punch for Coach Rechelle Turner as they are the top two scorers in the OVC at 19.5 and 18.5 points per game, respectively.
 
Turley does most of her damage from beyond the arc, placing fourth in the country for three-pointers per game (4.00) while hitting them at the 15th-best clip in the nation (61.5%).
 
Young does most of her work inside and at the free-throw line, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game (2nd in OVC), making 25 free throws made (10th in NCAA) and converting 63.4% of her shots overall (top-30 in NCAA).
 
Follow the Delta Devils and Delta Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).