Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
Nearly three weeks after the intended start date, Murray State women’s basketball is back in action.
The Racers began their season on Wednesday, Nov. 25, putting up a fight but ultimately falling 86-60 against the University of Kentucky Wildcats, who are ranked eleventh in the country.
With two Racers in juniors Alexis Burpo and Raegan Blackburn out, who both played key minutes last season, the bench had to fill in and play bigger roles. And that is exactly what they did.
The Racers started off strong, taking the ball right at Kentucky and straight to the basket. This move took the Wildcats by surprise, and it put Kentucky in foul trouble throughout the whole game.
This offensive pace also set up many baskets for Murray State and was its primary form of scoring in the game.
Kentucky played a full-court press against the Racers, causing turnover issues for Murray State throughout the game. However, the Racers still managed to put up 26 points in the first two quarters.
By halftime, the Wildcats were up 51-26 over the Racers, knocking down five three-pointers in the first half.
Fatigue seemed to be setting in for the Racers in the second half, but Murray State still went on to score 20 in the third quarter. This was the most the Racers scored in a quarter during the game, and the amount of fouls Kentucky committed was definitely helping.
Despite the abundance of turnovers, Murray State finished the game only down 26, losing 86-60 to the No. 11 team in the country.
Leading the way for the Racers was freshman forward Katelyn Young, who put up a double-double in the game, scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Young shot 60% from the field, going 6-10.
Other scoring leaders for the game include senior forward Laci Hawthorne with nine points on four field-goals, junior guard Manna Mensah with eight points on three field-goals and two free throws and junior guard Lex Mayes who also had eight points, as well as two three-pointers made.
Rebounding was a key stat for the Racers as they outrebounded Kentucky 48-43. Leading the team in rebounds were Young with 14, Mensah with nine and Hawthorne with seven.
Young asserted herself as a key post presence in her Racers debut and Head Coach Rechelle Turner expected nothing less.
“We knew if we could somehow, some way get her to campus, she could be a program changer for us,” Turner said. “She came out and did exactly what I expected her to do… she’s a great passer, along with her ability to finish around the basket. She’s normally a lot better free throw shooter, as well as I hope our entire team is after today. I just think she is going to be a force to be reckoned with going forward.”
Young said she wanted to go out and give it her all in her first game in the blue and gold, going up against one of the most prestigious basketball programs in the country.
“To be honest, I was just going out there, trying to play my hardest, but it was awesome experience-wise,” Young said. “Obviously there wasn’t a lot of people here, but still. You’re playing at a big school, everybody dreams of that, so it was pretty cool.
Turner was pleased with her team’s season-opening performance and feels that with a reloaded roster, they can make some noise this season.
“This team is built on character and this program’s built on culture, and I think we finally have the talent and the culture we need that’s going to be able to put us in a position to compete in the OVC,” Turner said. “I thought our young kids for the first time out showed a lot of competitiveness and poise and showed the reason we feel like our newcomers mixed with our returning players are really going to do some special things this year.”
Murray State will head back home for its next game, taking on the University of Evansville at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the CFSB Center.
