Lady Tigers conclude regular season by hosting Murray State

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 THE LADY TIGERS AT A GLANCE

Tennessee State (9-18, 5-10 OVC) snapped a five-game losing skid with Saturday's, 61-59, win over Jacksonville State in the Gentry Center. TSU sits in eighth place in the OVC standings. With a 6-6 home record this season, the Lady Tigers will look to move to above .500 with a win over Murray State.     

As a team, TSU is averaging 68.0 points per outing while shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc. TSU is currently shooting only 64.8 percent from the free-throw line while committing an average of 18.0 turnovers per game. TSU averages 43.4 rebounds, 13.0 assists and 8.0 steals per game.

EVERY GAME MATTERS

With the OVC tournament less than two weeks away, every game is crucial. The Lady Tigers are in the play-off race and are looking to remain in the top eight with wins down the stretch.

LAST TIME OUT

Tennessee State snapped a five-game skid with a, 61-59, win over Jacksonville State Saturday in the Gentry Center. TSU led, 26-23, at the break before holding on for the victory. Chelsea Hudson led TSU and recorded her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 18 rebounds.  

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Murray State is coming off a, 91-67, loss to UT Martin State at home on Monday night. MSU has dropped two straight contests and has an OVC mark of 7-7. The Racers sit in sixth place in league standings.   

In MSU's most recent loss to UT Martin, three players scored in double-figures led by Erica Burgess' 27 points. Kalya Lowe and Mallory Schwab rounded out the top three scorers for the Racers with 14 points each. Tessa Elkins led Murray State with nine rebounds. 

Overall, the Racers average 68.1 points per game behind a .351 field goal percentage (.276 three-point range). Erica Burgess leads the team with 16.7 points per game while Mariah Robinson (13.7 ppg) and Kayla Lowe (11.3 ppg) round out the top three scorers for JSU.

TSU vs. MURRAY STATE

Tennessee State and Murray State will meet for the 50th time in the series history with the Racers holding a, 30-19, advantage. The Racers claimed the first meeting of the season, 66-56, in the CFSB Center earlier this month. 

LAST TIME THEY MET (Feb. 6, 2012)

The Tennessee State University women's basketball team couldn't hold off a late second half run by Murray State as the Racers defeated the Lady Tigers, 66-56, Monday night in the CFSB Center.

In a game that featured nine ties and six lead changes, Murray State used a 17-9 run down the stretch to come away with the victory.

Tennessee State (8-17, 4-9 OVC) was led in scoring by Jasmin Shuler's 14 points while Rachel Allen added 10. Simone Hopes nearly recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points.

Murray State (10-14, 6-5 OVC) had three players to register double-digits led by Erica Burgess' 16. Tessa Elkins had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Kyra Watson followed with 10 points.

TSU struggled offensively and shot 28.0 percent (21-of-75) from the field including 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from the three-point line. The Lady Tigers also stumbled at the free-throw line, only connecting on 66.7 percent of their attempts.

Murray State knocked down nearly 40 percent of its shots (39.1) from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.

 

COVERAGE

TSU vs. Murray State will be shown on OVCsports.tv. Live stats will be available at tsutigers.com while fans can listen live at tsuradio.com.

TEAM LEADERS

Jasmin Shuler leads TSU in scoring with 15.1 ppg while Tayla Foster (9.8 ppg) and Destiney Gaston (7.3 ppg) round out the top three scorers for the Lady Tigers. Foster is pulling down a team-best 5.1 rebounds per game while Simone Hopes grabs 4.7 rpg. Rachel Allen leads the team in assists while Gaston also paces TSU with 30 blocks.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 29. The tournament will continue through, Saturday March 3.

 

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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Circle City Classic to feature MEAC opponents

iNDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - The North Carolina Central-South Carolina State football game has been rescheduled as the Circle City Classic on Oct. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Previously, the game between Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference members was scheduled to be played at North Carolina Central. This will be South Carolina State's third appearance in the Circle City Classic.

The 63,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the Indianapolis Colts and site of Super Bowl XLVI earlier this month.

It will be one of two games in an NFL venue for South Carolina State. The Bulldogs open their season with a Thursday game in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, facing Georgia State on Aug. 30.

After a home game against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 8, the Bulldogs visit Arizona on Sept. 15 and Texas A&M on Sept. 22.

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Tennessee runner is XU Gold Nuggets' first signee for 2012

BRIANA SIMMS

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Briana Simms of Hendersonville, Tenn., and Station Camp High School has signed a women's cross country scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana.

Simms is XU's first runner signed for 2012.

photo from the signing ceremony (via Facebook)

"Xavier had what I wanted, academically and athletically," said Simms, who has a 3.87 grade-point average and will major in biochemistry. "When I visited, it felt like a family there. I knew that Xavier was where I needed to be."

Simms competed four consecutive years in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association state meet and placed among the top 32 three times. She was 20th in Class A-AA as a freshman in 2008, 28th in Class AAA in 2010 and 32nd in AAA this past season to help the Bison finish third in the team standings. Four times in 2011 she ran 5,000 meters in less than 19 minutes, 45 seconds, with a personal best of 19:22.86 — the second fastest time in school history — in the Jesse Owens Classic at Oakville, Ala., on Oct. 1.

Simms was All-Sumner County and All-Mid-State four times each.

In outdoor track Simms was the co-outstanding runner in the Sumner County Championships in 2010 and the outstanding runner in 2011. She won the 800- and 1,600-meter runs both years at that meet. Her best outdoor times include 5:33.59 in the 1,600 and 12:02 in the 3,200.

Hendersonville is a suburb northeast of Nashville.

Xavier's Gold Nuggets won the past six Gulf Coast Athletic Conference team championships and qualified for three of the past four NAIA National Championships.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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MVSU rebounds from 1-11 start to dominate SWAC

ITTA BENA, Mississippi - When the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, Mississippi Valley State was 1-11 and had lost seven games in a row. The Delta Devils had not played a home game all season, center Jason Holmes had missed the entire season with a knee injury, and things weren’t looking great as the non-conference campaign came to a close.

Head coach Sean Woods wasn’t overly concerned, though. “We’re a mature team, we have an upload of seniors,” Woods said over the phone Tuesday.  "It was just the mentality.”

It turns out his confidence was spot on. The Delta Devils have won their last 15 games, clinching the outright SWAC regular-season title by beating Texas Southern on a last-second 3 by Paul Crosby on Monday night. Not many teams trust their 6-foot-8, 250-pound center to knock down a game-winning 3, but that was designed.

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The clash at the DAP

DURHAM, North Carolina — The ballpark that was good enough for the making of the film “Bull Durham” is the home of N.C. Central University baseball. There are worse places to play. “Being able to say we play and practice at the Durham Athletic Park is absolutely huge,” first-year NCCU coach Jim Koerner said.

The DAP’s playing surface is better than some professional facilities, Koerner said. “It’s probably the best facility in the conference,” said Koerner of the Eagles' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. “It’s incredibly maintained.”

view slideshow (5 images)

NCCU will host Duke today at 4 p.m. in the historic ballpark where the minor league Durham Bulls once played. Admission is free to this match-up that some say will further foster the relationship between Duke and NCCU, strengthening Durham.

“It bodes well for both universities,” Durham mayor Bill Bell said. “I think the more they can do things in a joint effort – even if it’s competing in sports– it’s a coming together of the community.”

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Facility Upgrade Pays Dividends for TSU Football

On Feb. 21, The Tennessean highlighted Tennessee State's new upgrades for football and the school's top HBCU recruiting class. Below is the article as published by Mike Organ.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State football Coach Rod Reed has rerouted the map he follows when a recruit visits, thanks to some new construction and upgrades.

Instead of starting with a trip to LP Field, where TSU has played its home games for the past 13 years, Reed brings prospects straight to campus, where he shows off the team's new locker room, indoor practice facility and renovated weight room.

Reed said that helped the Tigers sign a class two weeks ago that achieved the top ranking for historically black colleges and universities.

"We used to just go to LP Field and show off the locker room and other facilities there when we'd bring a recruit in," Reed said. "When a kid would ask about the locker room or practice field on campus, we would just kind of shy away from it."



The new locker room in Gentry Center was opened late in the summer, and the $3.7 million indoor practice facility and weight room renovations were completed last fall.

"It's really, really nice," said receiver Lavatiae Kelly of Hollywood, Florida, who is considered one of TSU's top signees. "I might not have known what to expect, but I didn't expect anything as nice as what they have."

TSU is one of just six Football Championship Subdivision schools that has an indoor practice facility.

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Gold Rush Tennis still ninth in NAIA poll; Nuggets gain support

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana maintained its No. 9 ranking in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Tuesday.

The Gold Rush are in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive poll dating to May 2011 and the seventh time in the past eight polls. Beginning with the poll of April 4, 2007, Xavier has been in every men's top 25.

Xavier still is tied for 36th place in the women's rankings, but the Gold Nuggets' point total increased from one to three.

The polls are the second of nine this season. Fresno Pacific's men and Auburn Montgomery's women held on to their No. 1 rankings. The next polls will be announced March 6.

The Gold Nuggets will travel to NCAA Division I Southeastern Louisiana for a 6 p.m. Friday dual match, then both Xavier teams will play William Carey in dual matches starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center. William Carey's men are ranked 13th, and the women are 12th.

The XU men already have a victory this season against a ranked opponent — 7-2 on Feb. 11 against Bethany (Kan.), which climbed from 16th to 15th in the poll — and are scheduled for at least eight more regular-season matches against this week's top 25.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 19)

Rank Team Record Points Last

1 Fresno Pacific (11) 5-0 281 1

2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 4-1 272 2
3 Oklahoma Christian 4-0 261 3

4 Azusa Pacific 2-0 255 tie-4

5 Auburn Montgomery 1-2 243 tie-4

6 Westmont 1-2 239 6

7 Point Loma Nazarene 0-2 227 7

8 Vanguard 2-3 217 8

9 Xavier 3-1 210 9

10 Shorter 2-2 196 10

11 Concordia (Calif.) 2-1 194 11

12 Lindsey Wilson 2-3 181 13

13 William Carey 0-1 176 12

14 Aquinas 2-1 161 14

15 Bethany (Kan.) 2-2 154 16

16 St. Thomas (Fla.) 0-3 149 15

17 Lee (Tenn.) 2-1 128 17

18 Warner 1-1 124 RV

19 Lewis-Clark State 4-1 122 19

20 Webber International 4-1 103 18
21 Tennessee Wesleyan 0-0 94 21
22 Olivet Nazarene 2-0 91 NR
23 Campbellsville 0-0 82 23
24 Belhaven 2-0 65 22
25 Martin Methodist 0-0 60 24

Others receiving votes: Spring Arbor 59, SCAD Savannah 51, Missouri Valley 29, Northwestern Ohio 24, Oklahoma Baptist 18, Biola 18, Cumberland 12, Northwood (Fla.) 7, McPherson 4, Pikeville 3, Brescia 1.


NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 19)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Auburn Montgomery (11) 4-0 312 1
2 Fresno Pacific (1) 5-0 302 2
3 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 5-1 292 3

4 Oklahoma Christian 1-0 282 4

5 Concordia (Calif.) 3-0 272 5

6 Brenau 2-0 260 6

7 Azusa Pacific 3-0 254 7

8 SCAD Savannah 2-2 238 8

9 Point Loma Nazarene 1-1 235 11

10 Southern Nazarene 0-0 219 10

11 Vanguard 1-2 215 9
12 William Carey 0-3 204 12
13 Lee (Tenn.) 3-0 191 13

14 Lindsey Wilson 1-2 179 14

15 Shorter 4-1 175 15
16 Lewis-Clark State 1-7 160 16

17 Indiana Wesleyan 14-0 152 17

18 SCAD Atlanta 0-0 145 18

19 Martin Methodist 0-0 131 20
20 St. Thomas (Fla.) 0-2 120 21
21 Belhaven 2-0 104 23
22 Campbellsville 0-0 101 22

23 Webber International 2-1 95 24

24 Marian (Ind.) 12-3 73 25

25 Davenport 8-2 57 RV

Others receiving votes: Olivet Nazarene 49, Indiana Southeast 46, Westmont 29, Northwood (Fla.) 23, Northwestern Ohio 15, Missouri Valley 15, Taylor 14, Milligan 9, Robert Morris (Chicago) 7, Bethel (Kan.) 7, Cumberlands 3, Xavier 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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