Murray State comes into Friday’s game with a 9-7 Missouri Valley Conference record for sixth place in the Valley standings. The Racers have a 16-9 overall record thanks to an 11-game win streak from the middle of the season. MSU is currently on a one-game losing streak after a 76-63 loss to Belmont on Sunday afternoon. Senior forward Kaitlyn Young continues to lead the Racers on both sides of the ball, averaging 19 points and 8.2 rebounds a game through 25 games.
The Bruins sit second in the MVC standings behind only Drake with just three losses in conference play. Belmont has a two-game win streak after losing to the Bulldogs two weeks ago at home. The Bruins have only lost to Drake and Missouri State during Valley play and look to maintain their second-place position over the final two weeks of the regular season. Similar to Murray State, Belmont is also led on both sides of the ball by the same player, junior forward Tessa Miller. Miller averages 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a game in 29 minutes of playing time. Junior forward Kendal Cheesman is also a threat for the Bruins, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.
Despite a close first half, two large scoreless droughts in the third quarter kept the Aces from picking up their first win against the Redbirds since 2017 on Sunday. In the 78-50 loss, UE was able to take advantage of 12 Illinois State turnovers for 17 points or 34% of the team’s scoring at CEFCU Arena. Evansville is still one of the best teams in the Valley at getting to the line during games through conference play. The Aces are second in the conference behind only UIC in free throw attempts per game. UE is currently averaging 22 free throw attempts per game for 15th in the country.
