Game 19
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
at Florida Atlantic Owls
Saturday, January 23, 2010 4:00 p.m. (CST)
FAU Gymnasium (5,000) Boca Raton, Florida
Radio: KWHF 95.9 FM "The Wolf" & AStateRedWolves.com
TIPPING IT OFF: The Arkansas State Red Wolves wrap up their four-game road swing Saturday afternoon when they take on the Owls of Florida Atlantic in a 4:00 p.m. (CST) game at FAU Gymnasium. All ASU games may be heard on KWHF 95.9 FM "The Wolf" and through the StateZone portion of AStateRedWolves.com. LiveStats will also be available at AStateRedWolves.com.
THE TEAMS: Arkansas State will take the court Saturday afternoon with an overall record of 7-11. The Red Wolves are currently 2-5 in Sun Belt Conference play. In its last game, ASU overcame a 12-point second half deficit to tie FIU late, but the Golden Panthers scored four unanswered in the final minute to secure a 65-61 win over the Red Wolves Wednesday night at FIU. Florida Atlantic enters Saturday's contest with a record of 8-10, including an even 4-4 slate in SBC action. The Owls have lost three consecutive, including a 73-63 setback to SBC-West leader UALR Wednesday night at FAU. Two of the Owls' three consecutive losses have been to league co-leaders UALR and Middle Tennessee.
THE FAU SERIES: Arkansas State leads the series 5-1, with the only loss to the Owls being a 54-44 defeat last year in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves are 1-0 against FAU in Boca Raton, 3-1 in games played in Jonesboro and 1-0 in games played on a neutral court.
THE COACHES: Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer is in his 11th season at the helm of the Red Wolves program. Boyer holds a career record of 175-146 and has directed the Red Wolves to the Women's National Invitation Tournament four times, including three of the past six years. Boyer is assisted by Tanya Ray, Rebecca Peoples and Jennifer Sullivan. Chancellor Dugan is
131-178 in her 11th season as head coach at Florida Atlantic.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Arkansas State is wrapping up a four-game road swing with the Red Wolves visiting South Alabama, North Texas, FIU and Florida Atlantic. ASU is 1-2 thus far with all three games being decided by four points or less, and two of them being settled by a single point. The Red Wolves dropped a 68-67 decision at South Alabama Jan. 10 before bouncing back to claim a 77-76 victory at North Texas Jan. 16. The Red Wolves dropped a 65-61 decision at FIU Wednesday night. The four-game road trip is the longest stretch of games on an opponents' home court since the 2003-04 season when ASU played five consecutive SBC road games. Arkansas State finished that road stretch at 3-2 on its way to a 19-10 record that year that included a 10-4 mark in SBC action and the SBC-East division title.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: With its 77-76 victory over North Texas Jan. 16, Arkansas State improved to 4-2 on the season in games decided in the final minute and 2-1 in games decided by a single point. Additionally, ASU is 3-0 in games this season decided in overtime.
BREAKING A TREND: With their victory at North Texas Jan. 16, the Red Wolves picked up their first victory of the season in which an opponent won the battle on the boards. Heading into the game, the Red Wolves were 0-9 on the season when being out-rebounded by their opponent. North Texas out-rebounded Arkansas State 44-40 in the game, but ASU came out on top 77-76.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE BELT: In all games played, Arkansas State is currently leading the league in rebounding offense (42.8) and offensive rebounds (17.0)...Sophomore guard NeNe Hurst is the league's leader in free throw percentage (.826)...The Red Wolves have the Sun Belt's top two rebounding games this season, pulling down 71 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 59 against South Alabama...In Sun Belt games only, ASU's 20 steals against North Texas Jan. 2 is tied for the most in any conference game this season.
MILESTONE VICTORY: Arkansas State's 68-64 victory over Southern Illinois Dec. 23 marked the 100th career victory for ASU head coach Brian Boyer in games played at the ASU Convocation Center. With the victory, Arkansas State improved to 100-42 (.704) in all games played at the Convo under Boyer.
RAISING THE BAR: Sophomore guard NeNe Hurst poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Red Wolves in their loss at FIU Wednesday night...junior forward Shay Scott tied her career-high with eight field goals made, while freshman guard Quinishia McDowell tied two career-bests, pulling down a team-high seven rebounds and blocking two shots.
WORKING OVERTIME: With their 67-60 overtime victory over UT-Arlington Dec. 15, Arkansas State improved to 11-0 during the regular season in overtime games under head coach Brian Boyer. Seven of those games have been played on the road, including this year's 80-79 victory at Kansas State and the Red Wolves' 65-62 win at Northern Arizona. Arkansas State's three overtime victories this season are the most ever in a single season for ASU. The Red Wolves played three overtimes in three previous seasons (1983-84, 1989-90 and 2002-03) but finished 2-1 in those games each year. Arkansas State has never played four overtime games in a single season. In all overtime games played under Boyer, the Red Wolves stand at 11-2, falling to New Mexico State in double overtime in the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and to New Orleans in the 2002 SBC Tournament.
Overtime Games Under Boyer
2009-10 - ASU 67, UT-Arlington 60
2009-10 - ASU 65, @ Northern Arizona 62
2009-10 - ASU 80, @ Kansas State 79
2008-09 - ASU 76, @ Indiana St. 68
2007-08 - ASU 72, FIU 64
2006-07 - ASU 65, @ ULL 58
2004-05 - ASU 85, @ FIU 74
2003-04 - ASU 86, @ UALR 79
2003-04 - N. Mexico St. 71, ASU 56 (2OT)
at Bowling Green, Kentucky
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
2002-03 - ASU 69, UNO 63
2002-03 - ASU 63, Belmont 62
2001-02 - UNO 51, ASU 47
at New Orleans, Louisiana
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
2000-01 - ASU 79, @ McNeese 74
BOYER CLIMBING: With 91 Sun Belt Conference victories, ASU head coach Brian Boyer is now fourth all-time in Sun Belt Conference wins. Heading into the current season, Boyer trailed FIU head coach Cindy Russo, who was in third place with 94 wins to her credit. Former Louisiana Tech head coach Leon Barmore tops the list with 135 SBC victories. With 175 overall victories to his credit, Boyer is in second place on the Arkansas State all-time wins list, trailing only Jerry Ann Winters, who finished with 196 victories in 11 seasons at ASU.
RECORDS WATCH: With her six rebounds against FIU Jan. 20, junior forward Shay Scott moved into 12th place on the ASU all-time rebounding chart with 580 rebounds in her career. Quintella Jackson (1984-87) sits in 11th place with 590 rebounds during her career. Scott is also among the career leaders for blocked shots and is in eighth place with 59 blocks. Scott now trails teammate Lyndsay Schlup who is in a sixth-place tie with with Kim Davis (1999-2000) with 60 blocked shots during her ASU career after adding two block against FIU. Senior guard Ebonie Jefferson is now in 11th place on the all-time steals chart after recording two against FIU to bring her total to 141. She now trails Rae-Anne Smith (1999-02) who is in 10th place with 153 steals.
EB ON A ROLL: After scoring seven points in ASU's season opener at Creighton, senior guard Ebonie Jefferson has scored in double figures in all but one of ASU's games since. Jefferson has been ASU's leading scorer in 13 of ASU's 18 games this season and has five of the top seven individual scoring performances of the year for the Red Wolves. One week after earning all-tournament honors at the Nov. 20-21 Seton Hall Classic, Jefferson scored a career-high 27 points against Missouri State Nov. 27 to help her average a team-best 21.7 points in ASU's three games during the week of Nov. 24-30. Jefferson opened her week with a 20-point performance against Louisiana Tech, added 27 against Missouri State and finished the week with 18 at Saint Louis. For the week, Jefferson shot 50% from the field (21-42), .821 from the line (23-28) and averaged 5.7 rebounds per game. She also added six steals, six assists and a blocked shot. In Arkansas State's only game the following week, Jefferson scored a game-high 23 points and completed her second career double-double with 11 rebounds in ASU's 65-62 overtime victory at Northern Arizona Dec. 5. She hit 9-of-14 shots from the field against the Lumberjacks, five-of-7 from the line and added three steals in the game. Jefferson is closing in on the 1,000-point mark for her career as well. With 919 career points to her credit, Jefferson needs just 81 points to reach the milestone and become the 18th ASU player to do so. She is currently 21st on the ASU all-time scoring list.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Senior Ebonie Jefferson was named to the all-tournament team at the Anaconda Sports & The Rock Seton Hall Classic last weekend following her performance in ASU's two games. Jefferson scored in double figures in both of ASU's games, finishing with 11 points against Virginia Commonwealth in the Red Wolves' opening game before repeating the effort in Saturday's consolation game against Seton Hall. Jefferson also had five steals and eight rebounds in the two-game classic. Jefferson was joined on the team by Kandice Green of Seton Hall, Corin Adams and Erin Hawkins of Morgan State and La'Tavia Rorie and D'Andra Moss of VCU, with Moss earning MVP honors.
SCHLUP SHINES: Senior forward Lyndsay Schlup was outstanding on the boards for Arkansas State during the week of Nov. 24-30. Schlup opened the week with a 6-rebound performance against Louisiana Tech, cleaned the glass for 13 rebounds against Missouri State, then topped that figure with 15 more against Saint Louis. For the week, Schlup averaged 11.3 rebounds per game and added four blocked shots and four steals. She currently leads the Red Wolves on the boards, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game and has five double-digit rebounding games this season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Senior guard Ebonie Jefferson (23 points, 11 rebounds) and junior forward Shay Scott (16 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles in ASU's 65-62 overtime win at Northern Arizona Dec. 5, marking the second time this season that two ASU players have posted a double-double in the same game. Senior forward Lyndsay Schlup and junior forward Shay Scott both recorded double-doubles against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Nov. 18 to mark the Red Wolves' first game with two double-doubles since Scott and senior guard Ebonie Jefferson each doubled-up against North Texas during the 2007-08 season. Schlup finished the UAPB game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Scott scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Jefferson and Schlup's double-doubles were the
second of their careers while Scott has now piled up 15 double-doubles.
HOT SHOOTING: Although the Red Wolves came up on the short end of a 79-70 score, Arkansas State made a season-high seven 3-pointers at Saint Louis Nov. 30 and shot a season-high .467 (7-15) from behind the arc. Additionally, the Red Wolves committed a season-low 14 turnovers against the Billikens.
CLEANING THE GLASS: The Red Wolves tied a Convocation Center record for rebounding in their 72-58 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff when ASU ripped down 71 rebounds against the Golden Lions, matching the mark set against Ouachita Baptist Dec. 13, 1988. Arkansas State's 71 rebounds in the game was just shy of the school record of 75 set against UAPB during the 1975-76 season and are the most pulled down by any team in the Sun Belt this season. The Red Wolves' 34 offensive rebounds against UAPB topped the previous Convocation Center high of 33 set against Central Florida Feb. 14, 1991.
THE RED WOLVES AT HOME: Over the last five-plus years, the ASU women's basketball program boasts a winning percentage of .784 (73-20) at the ASU Convocation Center. The Red Wolves are 212-66 (.762) all-time at the Convocation Center and 101-43 (.701) under head coach Brian Boyer.
SBC HONORS: Arkansas State senior Ebonie Jefferson (Laurel, Miss.) has been named preseason third-team All-Sun Belt Conference, and the Red Wolves are picked third in the Sun Belt West Division preseason poll as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches, the conference office announced Oct. 20.
"I expect Ebonie to play at an all-conference level this season," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "I can't imagine that there is a tougher competitor or a harder worker in the league. I am so proud of how far Ebonie has come during her career, and I look forward to her continued improvement this season."
Jefferson scored in double figures in 14 of ASU's last 17 games a year ago, had 19 double-figure games on the season and led ASU in scoring with an 11.8 points-per-game average, a figure that climbed to 13.0 points-per-game in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Red Wolves return three of their top four scorers and four of the top five rebounders from last year's team that finished 16-14.
LAST TIME OUT: MIAMI, Florida (01/20/10) - Arkansas State sophomore NeNe Hurst scored a career-high 20 points and the Red Wolves (7-11, 2-5) rallied from 12 points down in the second half to tie the score late, but the FIU Golden Panthers (8-12, 3-6) were able to pull away in the final minute for a 65-61 Sun Belt Conference victory Wednesday night at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Junior forward Shay Scott added 18 points for ASU, but FIU countered with 24 points from senior Monika Bosilj and 14 from junior guard Michelle Gonzales.
Bosilj scored seven points in the opening two minutes of the second half to help FIU open up a 37-25 advantage, and the Golden Panthers led by 11 with just under 12 minutes remaining before ASU began to chip away at the lead.
The Red Wolves tied the game at 59-59 on a jumper in the lane from Scott with 1:19 remaining, but Gonzales got free in the lane with 51 seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 61-59 advantage.
Gonzales hit two free throws with 24.5 to play to give FIU a four-point lead at 63-59, but ASU forward Lyndsay Schlup dropped in a baseline jumper with 15 seconds on the clock to slice the Panther lead in half at 63-61.
Forced to foul on the following FIU possession, the Red Wolves sent Bosilj to the line with 13.9 seconds to go. Bosilj knocked down both free throws to stretch the Golden Panther lead to four at 65-61, and the Red Wolves were unable to score on their final possession.
"I'm proud of the team for their fight and getting back in it and tying it up," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "We have been a good team in tight games and have been tough in these situations, but tonight we were not."
"In the first half, we were okay defensively, but our offense was really frustrated," added Boyer. "Once we got things going offensively in the second half, we did some good things and kept it within reach. If we can keep carrying over what we saw in the second half it will certainly help us. But we have to complement it by not letting the defense and rebounding slip."
In the first half, Arkansas State led by four midway through the period, but the lead changed hands five times and the score was tied twice before halftime as FIU went to the locker room with a 30-25 advantage. Hurst scored 11 of her 20 points in the first 20 minutes, while Bosilj led the Panthers with 10.
The Red Wolves' south Florida road trip continues Saturday when Arkansas State visits Florida Atlantic for a 4:00 p.m. (CST) Sun Belt Conference matchup.
ASU IN SEASON OPENERS: The Red Wolves are 20-16 all-time in season openers, with a record of 7-14 when opening the season on the road. Under head coach Brian Boyer, the Red Wolves are 6-5 in season-openers, including a 3-5 record when opening on the road.
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP: In an effort to help acclimate Arkansas State's international students to life in the United States, the ASU women's basketball program began a partnership with the university's international community by holding a basketball clinic Sunday evening at the ASU Convocation Center.
Over 80 international students were on hand as the team members and coaching staff introduced themselves and introduced the students to Red Wolves women's basketball. The students joined the team on the court for drills and fundamental instruction, then enjoyed a pizza party to wrap up the night's activities.
"This is a semester-long project that got underway with the clinic last night," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "We wanted to let our international students know how much we appreciate them and to encourage them to be more involved with all of the activities on campus. We also wanted to increase their awareness of athletics here at Arkansas State, introduce them to the Convocation Center and allow them to get to know our team."
Arkansas State's players will partner with an international student throughout the semester, meeting with the student for at least an hour each week to help them become familiar with Arkansas State and ease their transition to life in the United States.
The women's basketball team will salute ASU's international students at the Nov. 18 home opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Next week's game has been designated as "International Students Night" at the Convocation Center.
RED WOLVES ADD MORRILL: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Scott City, Mo. standout Jane Morrill has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball career at Arkansas State University.
A 6'1" forward, Morrill is on pace to top the 1,000-point mark in her career at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau, Mo. and averages 15.7 points and nine rebounds per game. She is a two-time All-Conference, All-District and All-Regional selection, earning conference MVP honors following her sophomore year with the Bulldogs. She has blocked 151 shots over the past two seasons at Notre Dame and is expected to finish her career as the school's all-time leader.
"From day one, Jane was our number one recruit, and we were so excited when she committed to us," said Boyer. "She is going to be an impact front-line player at this level. She is not only a very good scorer, but she is a very versatile post player. She understands the game and passes it very well for a player her size."
In addition to her skills on the basketball court, Morrill is a two-time All-State softball player at Notre Dame, also earning All-Conference, All-District and All-Regional honors along the way. She is the daughter of Alan and Carla Morrill.
"Jane is the total package," said Notre Dame head coach Renee Peters. "She has size, shooting ability, passing ability, shot blocking ability and rebounding ability. She knows the game so well. She can see the game set up and know how to thread the needle with passes. She is also an excellent perimeter shooter and ball handler. You are not going to see many girls her size take the ball behind their back when they take someone one-on-one. But she isn't someone who worries about cushioning stats and making herself look better; she wants to win and however that falls in place is fine with her."
QEDAN INKS WITH ASU: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Hanna Qedan, a 5'11" guard from Farmington, Ark., has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Red Wolves lineup for the 2010-11 season.
"Hanna can really shoot the ball," said Boyer. "To go along with that, she has very good size for a guard, so she is able to get a shot off on a lot of people. But the thing that really stands out about her is her explosiveness. She handles the ball just as well left or right, so she is more than just a shooter, she is a very good all-around guard."
The Farmington High School standout averages 19.4 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and four blocks per game. She has 19 double-doubles so far in her career and owns a 32-point career-high game. She was named All-Conference and an AAO Top 25 Camp nominee. She was selected to the All-Northwest Arkansas team, the All-County team, the KURM Dream Team and was a Top 10 All-American Camp participant.
"Hanna is a tenacious player on both ends of the floor," said Farmington head coach Brad Johnson. "She is a big guard who has a great face-up game. She can shoot it from outside, but probably her biggest asset is her explosiveness to the basket. She gets to the basket quickly with either hand and she is big enough and physical enough that she can take it down low and post up. She is a very versatile player and knowing the offensive sets that Coach Boyer runs at ASU, she is tailor-made for them offensively."
She is the daughter of Bashar and Jeri Qedan.
MADDOX SIGNS WITH ASU: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Millington (Tenn.) Central guard/forward Olivia Maddox has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball career at ASU.
Maddox, 5'11", was a Class 3-A All-State Tournament selection following her sophomore year in which she averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and helped lead Millington to a state runner-up finish. She was also named Memphis Best of Preps and earned All-District honors following the 2007-08 season.
"Olivia has been a part of one of the most successful programs in the Memphis area," said Boyer. "In addition to being on a very successful team, they are very well balanced in terms of scoring. She is a great athlete who really fits our system well and is someone that our fans will enjoy watching over the next four years. Olivia is very athletic, very smooth to the basket and is a great offensive rebounder. It is unfortunate that she didn't get to play last year due to a knee injury, but her best basketball is ahead of her and we have all the confidence that she is going to be a great player for us."
"I think Arkansas State is getting a young lady with a lot of athleticism who has a lot of upside to her game," said Millington head coach Stan Gatlin. "She has great rebounding ability, jumping ability and great defensive intensity. She has the ability to play different positions from the wing to the post and will be a great addition to Arkansas State's team."
Maddox is the daughter of Rosalind Brown.
