Story by Gage Johnson
Senior writer
While most students headed home for the holidays, the women’s basketball team remained hard to surpass league expectations.
Non-conference no more
The Racers took losses at the hands of the University of Illinois, then-ranked No. 16 University of Kentucky, then-ranked No. 10 University of Tennessee and Butler University in one of the toughest non-conference slates in recent memory. Their three other losses were to Arkansas State University, Alabama A&M University and Southern Illinois University.
Murray State finished non-conference play with a record of 4-7, defeating Oakland City University, the University of Evansville, Lipscomb University and Bethel University.
Conference has come
The Racers were projected last in the preseason OVC polls, expected to not win a single game. While Murray State is not dominating the league by any means, it has already exceeded its peers’ expectations.
The Racers struggled in their conference opener, shooting just 39.7 percent from the field. Morehead State was powered by the OVC’s leading scorer, junior guard Aliyah Jeune, who sat out last season after transferring from Rutgers University. Jeune scored 33 points en route to an 83-61 victory.
Bouncing back in its next game against EKU, Murray State would have a strong second quarter performance by outscoring the Colonels 23-11, proving crucial to a 81-63 victory. Junior forward Evelyn Adebayo would also post a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Janika Griffith-Wallace, freshman guards Lex Mayes, and Alexis Burpo all scored in double figures.
Looking to claim their first road victory of the season, the Racers headed to UT Martin. Despite another double-double from Adebayo, the team’s 22 turnovers gave 16 points to the Skyhawks, leading to a 75-67 loss.
Murray State traveled to SEMO for its second straight road matchup, and claim its first road victory of the season. Freshman guard Macey Turley would pour on a career-high 32 points, and Adebayo would add 15 points and 10 rebounds to push the Racers past the Redhawks for a 64-59 win.
Adebayo poised for OVC Player of the Year
Before the season began, Head Coach Rechelle Turner stated that everyone would know Adebayo’s name by the time conference play came around. She was right.
Sitting out a season after transferring from Gardner Webb University, Adebayo has since notched eight double-doubles, including a career-high 28-point performance against Tennessee.
Adebayo is second the OVC in scoring (18.7) behind Morehead State’s Jeune. She’s also tied for 10th in field goal percentage (48%) and leads the conference in RPG at 10.1.
Turnovers and depth
When the Racers have found themselves in the loss column as of late, there tends to be two culprits: turnovers and depth.
While Murray State is in the middle of the pack in the OVC in turnovers, the team still averages 17.5 tpg, which usually end in a large sum of points off turnovers for its opponent.
Another glaring issue for the Racers has been their lack of depth. With a season-ending injury to freshman forward Macie Gibson and an injury to junior guard DeAsia Outlaw, Murray State has found itself struggling to find time for starters to get rest, with three of them averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
“We’ve had one recruiting class; we’re not deep enough right now,” Turner said. “But I’ll go to battle every night with the kids that were on the floor tonight because they’re the ones that’ll give you everything they’ve got, regardless of the result.”
Preparing for the Panthers
Sitting at 2-2, the Racers will now hit the road to take on Eastern Illinois. The Panthers sit at 1-3 in OVC play, and are currently riding a three-game losing streak.
Despite EIU’s unique playing style, Turner feels her staff and players are still well prepared to take on the second-best three-point shooting team (34.1%) in the conference.
“They make me nervous because they’re so unorthodox,” Turner said. “They kind of play a European Style of basketball. They have a lot of international players. Defensively, they’re unorthodox. It’s like a 2-3 trapping matchup zone. Our kids have done a really good job of being able to understand how to make changes.”
Murray State will continue its four-game road stretch against EIU at noon on Thursday, Jan. 17, at Lantz Arena.
