Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Kentucky
Players Mentioned
Racers Open 2020-21 Season at Kentucky
11/24/2020 12:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MSU to be tested early by 11th-ranked Wildcats
Date (Time): Nov. 25 (1 p.m. ET)
Opponent: #11 Kentucky
Site (Venue): Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
Audio: WNBS 97.9 FM (PxP: Jeremy Rose)
TV: SEC Network + (PxP: Jeff Piecoro; Analyst: Christi Thomas)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersWBB
MUR Record (Streak): 0-0 (---)
UK Record (Streak): 0-0 (---)
All-Time Series vs. UK (Streak): Kentucky leads 17-2 (Lost 15)
All-Time Series in Lexington (Streak): Wildcats lead 7-1 (Lost 7)
First Meeting: L 38-43 (Feb. 12, 1972; Louisville, Ky.)
Last Meeting: L 48-88 (Dec. 2, 2018, Lexington, Ky.)
Last Five vs. UK: 0-5 (LLLLL)
MUR Next Game: Dec. 1 vs. Evansville
MUR Next Home Game: Dec. 1 vs. Evansville
The Game
The Murray State women's basketball team opens its 2020-21 season at 11-ranked Kentucky Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, live on SEC Network+.
Scouting The Wildcats
The Wildcats went 22-8 last season overall and 10-6 in the SEC for a third place finish and will enter Wednesday ranked 11th according to the AP. In the SEC tournament, the Wildcats won their opening game against Tennessee in the quarterfinals, but ran into a buzz saw in the form of Mississippi State in the semifinals, which due to COVID-19, served as the final game of the season for Kentucky. The Wildcats will return three starters from last season and eight letterwinners overall. Longtime assistant Kyra Elzy will serve as the interim head coach for UK this season, after former head coach Matt Mitchell stepped down in early November. Junior Rhyne Howard has garnered a plethora of national attention in the preseason including Preseason SEC Player of the Year honors and being named to both the Naismith and Wade trophies watch lists. Howard averaged 23.5 points and 6.45 rebounds per game a year ago en route to a WBCA All-America honorable mention. Adding to the mix for UK this season, among others, will be Auburn transfer Robyn Benton, who averaged 10.1 points per game for the Tigers last year, Maryland transfer Olivia Owens and top-10 high school recruit Treasure Hunt.
Lifting The Lid
Murray State opens its 55th season of women's basketball Wednesday and is 23-31 all-time in season openers are 0-1 against the Wildcats in season openers
Preseason Accolades
Murray State had two players selected to the OVC All-Preseason team recently with Alexis Burpo and Macey Turley earning the honors. Murray State was one of just three teams to have multiple preseason selections, marking the first time a Racer pair had achieved the feat since 2011-12.
Returning Core
Murray State returns eight letterwinners from last season and all five starters. In addition, the Racers also return 79.5-percent of their scoring from a season ago and 78.4-percent of their rebounding efforts.
