With high expectations heading into the first year of the Missouri Valley Conference, Head Coach Rechelle Turner and her Racers felt like they left a few things out on the court in the 2022-23 season.
A 15-16 overall record paired with a conference record of 7-13 indicates the struggles the Racers had in The Valley. The seven-game losing streak that came midway through the conference portion of the season is looked at as the deflator for the team last season.
“I’ve gone back and watched all of those games and gone through them,” Turner said. “And [I] really can’t put a finger on why that happened, but that was the turning point of our season. We were 8-2 in non conference with a win over Kentucky. We were 4-2 in the new Missouri Valley with a win over Belmont, and then the wheels fell off.”
Senior forward Katelyn Young, the team’s statistical leader in points and rebounds per game last season, said the team made every attempt to get back into a groove during the losing skid. Yet none of the formulas they were implementing were successful.
“We tried to figure out everything, it was just [that we] couldn’t click,” Young said. “So I’m excited to get another chance at those teams.”
Young led the MVC in points per game last year, as she was the only player in the conference to average 20 or more points. She was also fourth in the conference in rebounds per game. In her first year in the conference, Young came in second place in the MVC Player of the Year voting.
Turner, Young, and the rest of the Racers will have their wish of matching up against MVC opponents granted, as they get another crack at their MVC foes this season. This time though, they are taking a new approach.
Turner referenced last season that the 2022-23 Racers were built to compete in their former conference, the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State was unable to recruit to the new style of the conference, setting them back a bit. This year, she has built her squad to compete in the MVC.
The Racers were frequently the less physical team last season, as they had a primary focus on the fundamentals of the game. So, Turner switched to a more aggressive style this season with a focus on wearing teams down to better fit Murray State’s new home.
“You’ve got to be really aggressive. You’ve got to make sure you’re moving at all times and that you’re speeding the other team up just as much as you want to play fast,” Turner said.
The 2023-24 Racers have already begun the process of switching styles. To be able to keep up with opposing teams and execute this new style of play, conditioning during practice has been amplified.
“It has been hard,” senior guard Bria Sanders-Woods said. “I think it helps us in the style we’re about to play now, so as long as it’s working for us, I think it’ll help during the season.”
Although the pre-season conditioning can be exhausting, the Racers are embracing the change and looking forward to executing it out on the court.
“I just like to play fast with the main focus on defense, so I think naturally everyone will just start playing faster and it’ll help us as a team,” Sanders-Woods said.
As the season begins, there are a few key games to keep an eye on. The first game of the season comes against the Arkansas Razorbacks, as the Racers will travel to play at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The first home game of the season will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14 to play Cumberland University in the CFSB Center. The Racers travel to play Austin Peay on Saturday, Dec. 9 at a time to be determined. The Racers’ first MVC game comes at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30 as they host the Valparaiso University Beacons in Murray State’s conference home opener.
The last home game of the season will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 3 against the Indiana State Sycamores. The MVC Tournament begins on Thursday, March 14 and the championship game will be played on Sunday, March 17.
The Racers are stepping onto the court this season with a bad taste in their mouth. Last year’s struggles against conference opponents made Turner take a step back and analyze the team’s situation. With a new mentality and players bought in, the Racers enter the 2023-24 season with new found momentum.
