Josh Embry
Sports Editor
With an 88-33 loss at the hands of UT Martin in the OVC Tournament, the Murray State women’s basketball 2019-20 season has come to a close.
The Racers went to Evansville, Indiana, as underdogs, looking to pull off an upset against the No. 1 seeded Skyhawks.
In the opening minutes of the game, Murray State got good looks on offense but failed to convert its shots. UT Martin took advantage and started the game on a quick 12-0 run.
Head Coach Rechelle Turner said the team’s inability to convert their good looks against the Skyhawks’ stout defense was a factor in the loss.
“Our achilles heel was the first three or four minutes of the game [when] we had some of the best shots we have gotten against them all year, [but] didn’t make any,” Turner said.
Murray State did not make its first basket until almost halfway through the quarter and shot just 12-for-60 (20%) in the game. Along with poor shooting, the Racers could not stop committing turnovers.
UT Martin’s full-court pressure proved disastrous for the Racers, especially since their lead ball-handler, sophomore guard Macey Turley, was injured.
“They are just long and athletic and our main ball-handler is sitting on the bench so that is a difficult situation,” Turner said.
With Murray State’s 24 turnovers on the game, UT Martin was able to capitalize with 34 points off turnovers. Another stat that played a key role in the outcome of the game was the three-point shooting of the Skyhawks, who went 9-for-18 from there.
UT Martin, who is known more for its dominant inside scoring from junior forwards Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop, became practically unstoppable offensively after the guards were knocking down threes.
“Well, if you get balance [scoring] and you can get good perimeter players to go with Chelsey and Maddie, you have got a good recipe,” Head Coach Kevin McMillan said. “It makes life easier for Maddie and Chelsey when you start making threes [because] that loosens people up.”
Just because the Skyhawks shot well from deep does not mean they didn’t dominate the paint as well. They scored 46 of their 88 in the lane.
UT Martin was led by the recently announced OVC Player of the Year in Perry, who finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in only 28 minutes. Junior forward Demi Burdick tallied 14 points (6-8 FG), six rebounds, two blocks and three steals off the bench.
Junior guard Tamiah Stanford came off the bench and handled the guard duties following an injury to sophomore guard Kyannah Grant early in the first quarter. Stanford’s impressive play led to having a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists along with three steals.
Waldrop finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. Turner said Perry and Waldrop’s inside scoring provides an advantage for them over any team they face.
“When you look at their stats and Maddie and Chelsey score like 45 of their 71 points, so when you are already behind going in, you do whatever you can to try and stop them,” Turner said. “Until the first media timeout, things went pretty well. We got them to take shots but we didn’t rebound the basketball [and] they put it back in.”
No Racer shot particularly well and only junior guard Ashley Hunter was able to crack the double-digit scoring barrier, finishing with 10 points (4-13 FG).
“My goal was just to come in and be aggressive and just help us in any way I could and with all the injuries and stuff, we just got to be ready to play,” Hunter said.
Sophomore forward Alexis Burpo was the next highest scorer with seven points. She had a solid statline with eight rebounds, three blocks and four steals.
Junior forward Laci Hawthorne struggled from the field (2-13 FG) but managed to have six points along with seven rebounds. Both sophomore guard Lex Mayes and junior guard G’Torria Swinton finished with four points. Swinton also finished with eight rebounds.
With the latest injuries Murray State has had, Turner said getting everyone back to full health and working on areas of their games that need improvement will be crucial over the off-season.
“Our goal right now is to get our kids healthy,” Turner said. “We still have surgeries to go and so we are going to make sure to get our kids healthy and we do everything we can to get them back as good as possible. We are going to work on the weaknesses of the players that we have coming back. It is a fresh start and it’s an opportunity for them all to get back.”
The Racers finished the season with a 14-16 record, the best in the Turner era, and will look to build off what they accomplished this season and carry it over into next season.
