Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Louisville
Players Mentioned
Racers Open Season With Tough Test At UL
11/7/2019 4:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Date (Time): Nov. 8 (7 p.m. ET)
Opponent: #9 Louisville
Site (Venue): Louisville, Ky. (KFC YUM! Center)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Jeremy Rose)
TV: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersWBB
MUR Record (Streak): 0-0 (---)
UL Record (Streak): 1-0 (Won 1)
All-Time Series vs. UL (Streak): Cardinals lead 16-8 (Lost 5)
All-Time Series in Louisville (Streak): Cardinals lead 11-3 (Lost 7)
First Meeting: L 33-47 (Feb. 12, 1972; Louisville, Ky.)
Last Meeting: L 51-114 (Nov. 24, 2014, Louisville, Ky.)
Last Five vs. UL: 0-0 (LLLLL)
MUR Next Game: Nov. 13 at Mississippi Valley
MUR Next Home Game: Nov. 22 vs. Christian Brothers
The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team opens its 2019-20 season at ninth-ranked Louisville Friday night at 7 p.m. ET at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, live on ACC Network Extra.
Last Time Out
The Racers had little trouble in its lone exhibition Monday night, as the Racers took down Georgetown (KY), 82-36, at the CFSB Center. Murray State shot 40.3-percent from the floor in the game and placed five players in double digits. Defensively, the Racers limited the Tigers to just 12 made baskets in the game including a 2-for-15 clip in the fourth quarter.
Transfer Laci Hawthorne and senior Cekeya Mack anchored the Racers Monday with a pair of double-doubles. Hawthorne led all scorers in the game with 20 points, while Mack added 10 to go along with 12 a game-high 12 boards each. Preseason All-OVC selection Macey Turley finished the game with 12 points and seven assists, while redshirt freshman Macie Gibson had 11 and true freshman Jentri Worley added 10.
The Louisville Series
Friday will be the 25th all-time meeting between the two teams and the first since 2017. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 16-8 and have won 11 of 14 meetings in Louisville. Murray State has lost each of the last five meetings in the series and have not won a game in the overall series since 1982 and last won in Louisville in 1978.
Scouting The Cardinals
Fresh off an Elite Eight appearance a season ago, the ninth-ranked Cardinals picked up right where they left off last year in their 2019-20 season opener Tuesday by taking down Western Kentucky, 75-56. Dana Evans led four Cards in double-digits in the game with 19, while Elizabeth Balogun went five-for-six from beyond the arch for 15 points.
Elizabeth Dixon notched a double-double in the contest with a game-high 13 rebounds and 10 points, while Jazmine Jones had a near triple double with 10 assists, eight rebounds and eight points. Louisville shot 49-percent from the floor in the game and an impressive 47-percent from three-point range.
Lifting The Lid
Murray State opens its 54th season of women's basketball Friday and is 23-30 all-time in season openers. The Racers have opened the season twice against Louisville and are 0-2 in those contests.
Preseason Accolade
After being named as the 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year, Macey Turley begins the 2019-20 season on the preseason All-OVC team. Turley is the team's leading returning scorer this season with 12.9 points per game.
An Elite Schedule
The Racers will open their 2019-20 campaign with four straight road games including two against teams that advanced to the Elite Eight of last year's NCAA tournament. Friday, Murray State will take on No. 9 Louisville, followed by a trip No. 8 Mississippi State a week later. The Racers will also play at Mississippi Valley and Lipscomb during that stretch.
