ABILENE, Texas – Picking up a pair of much-needed American Southwest Conference wins last week, McMurry Women's Basketball will look to keep it rolling with key road matchups at Concordia Texas on Thursday and No. 17/18 Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday.
On Thursday, the War Hawks (9-4, 2-3 ASC) will tipoff in Austin at 5:30 p.m. Two days later, the team is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. in Belton against the nationally-ranked Cru.
Live stats and live video will be available for both contests.
CTX: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
UMHB: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT – After dropping its first three ASC games of the year, McMurry got off the schneid with back-to-back wins against Howard Payne (75-63) and Sul Ross State (87-82). In Saturday's game, the senior/freshman post duo of Skyler Reyna and Destiny Mathews combined for 53 points.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA – The Tornados (5-9, 2-3 ASC) are tied with McMurry in the West Division standings following an 88-80 loss to Belhaven this past Saturday. Concordia hangs it hat on winning the turnover battle, bringing a +4.79 turnover margin into Thursday night. Payton Berger leads the team with 12.2 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR – The Cru (11-3, 4-1 ASC) slightly dropped in the national polls following a loss to UT Dallas on Jan. 4, but responded with back-to-back wins over Belhaven (76-54) and Louisiana College (83-52) last week. The West Division favorite leads the ASC in assist/turnover ratio and are among the leaders nearly across the board. Their leading scorer is Hannah Holt, the reigning ASC Player of the Week who ranks sixth in the conference with 15.9 points per game. Allaira Jones is also a threat with 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CTX – McMurry leads the all-time series by a tight margin with a 30-28 record against Concordia. The War Hawks have won three of the last four, including a season-sweep last season. The last game at Concordia was an overtime-thriller, as the visiting War Hawks pulled out a 70-69 win with 21 points from Reyna and 13 from Doherty.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMHB – According to records dating back to 1975-76, each team has 30 wins in this division rivalry. In games since 2000, McMurry holds a 23-15 advantage with a dominant reign in the mid-2000s. The Cru and War Hawks have split the last 12 games with two separate three-game win streaks. UMHB has won the last three, with McM's last win coming in 2018.
STARTING ON THE RIGHT FOOT – With nine wins already, McMurry is on pace for its best season under fifth-year head coach Brittany Desnman-Roes, who's highest win total was 13 in the 2017-18 campaign. The War Hawks ended 2019 with a 7-2 overall record, marking McMurry's best nine-game start since opening 8-1 in the 2011-12 season.
BRINGING THE OFFENSE – McMurry scored 87 points against Sul Ross State last Saturday, which matched a season-high last set against Louisiana College on Dec. 20, 2019. Both teams shot over 50 percent, with McMurry gaining the slight advantage at nearly 56 percent.
OUTSIDE GAME – McMurry has proven to be an outside team this season, shooting 31.5 percent behind the arc (91-289) to rank second in the ASC. Defensively, the War Hawks are holding opponents to a league-low 22.4 three-point percentage, which ranks fifth-best in the country.
WINNING THE BOARDS – The War Hawks have been powered by strong rebounding this season, ranking atop the ASC and 22nd in the nation with 46.6 rebounds per game. Senior Skyler Reyna is currently the nation's 36th best rebounder, averaging an ASC-best 11.1 rebounds per contest.
REYNA RECORD WATCH – A four-year standout for McMurry, senior Skyler Reyna ranks second on the all-time career rebound list at 855. She also ranks fifth all-time with 1,287 career points. Tarra Richardson Kersh (2004-08) holds both records with 1,015 rebounds and 2,164 points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION – Reyna is the only player in the ASC averaging a double-double, totaling 17.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest. Her scoring is tied for third in the conference, while her rebounds lead the conference. Furthermore, Reyna is the only ASC player above 10.0 RPG.
TWO-TIME PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Reyna racked up three straight double doubles against Nebraska Wesleyan, TLU and Schreiner, earning American Southwest Conference Player of the Week honors two weeks in a row. In that span, Reyna averaged 25.3 points and 17.6 rebounds per contest.
YOUTH MOVEMENT – McMurry has 14 freshmen and one junior transfer on the 2019-20 roster, joining the returning senior duo of Sarah Doherty and Skyler Reyna. With both Trinity Meador and Abrelle Godfrey celebrating birthdays the last seven days, the average age of the team is now 19.25 years old.
