Fresh off of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference championship and subsequent trip to the NCAA March Madness tournament, the Murray State women’s basketball team kicked off the season with their first practice on Monday, Sept. 29.
Despite boasting a promising recruitment class, a familiar and seasoned coaching staff, and a lengthy legacy, the team is determined to not get too comfortable with their perceived advantage, and to maintain momentum from game one to March Madness.
“Champions don’t just accept where they are, they grind to get back to the moment and that’s something that we’re going to work on,” said head coach Rechelle Turner in the first practice press conference. “New team, same mindset.”
Throughout the press conference, Turner reminisced on the 2024-25 team’s chemistry and said she believes the goals of the 2025-26 team will be achieved through relationship building and team chemistry.
“That was a difference maker for us last year. One through 15, nobody cared who got the credit,” said Turner. “Everybody just worked and did their job every single day and that’s something I hope this team brings from last year.”
The Racers’ lone senior guard Briley Pena, who has played in 91 games under Turner’s wing, returns to the team with high energy and a mission to take everything game by game. Junior guard Haven Ford, who averaged 14.9 points per game last season and started in all 33 games, will be returning to the court alongside Pena for the third year in a row. Now that the team has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the conference, they are determined to capitalize on the opportunity rather than remain stagnant.
“There’s still a lot more that we can work towards and fight for. I feel like we still just started,” Ford said. “Us winning the championship took years and a lot of commitment and dedication but there’s still more left for us.”
Among the rest of the returners are junior guard and 2024-25 season starter Halli Poock, who was top-five last season in the MVC in points per game and assists per game, and Sophomore guards Jada Cook and Braxcynn Baker, who each saw playing time in 32 games last season.
During National Signing Day on Nov. 18, 2024, the team added three freshman players to the 2024-25 signing class. Hailing from London, Kentucky, guard Brooke Nichelson joins the Racers after leading North Laurel High School to back-to-back KNSAA 13th region championships and averaging 18 points, 9.8 rebounds and 47% from the three-point line.
Three-time Indiana All-State honoree and 2023 Indiana 3-A state champion Gabby Spink brings size and strength to the Racers, as well as elite passing skills. Jackson, Tennessee, native and two-time TSSAA all-state honoree Jaidynn Askins guided her team through a 34-0 trip to the TSSAA state championship in 2023.
“We hope the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor will be a consistent hallmark of this class,” Turner said to Racer Athletics.
The team also welcomes Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, who averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in her first year of collegiate play at UT Martin. Shooting 54% from the field, Currie-Jelks left the Skyhawks as a top-5 player in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Fellow transfer Ellery Minch joins the Racers after playing 21 games with DePaul and scoring a career-high nine points.
In September, the team announced that the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder Katelyn Young would be rejoining the program as an assistant coach. This has added a new level of trust in the coaching staff that Turner feels has already prompted improvements in the post players.
“It was so much fun playing with her and now playing for her, and her helping us and teaching us will help us a lot,” said Pena
As practices become daily and the season inches closer, the Racers are determined to reset and remain focused on the tasks ahead.
“I think our mindset now is not getting complacent,” said Ford. “It’s so easy, just coming off of a championship [to say] we did it, you know? So now we have to be ready to grind and try to do it again.”
The Racers will begin their journey back to the MVC tournament on Monday, Nov. 3, at their non-conference home opener against Trevecca at the CFSB Center.
