By Kindsey Bernhard
NKyTribune intern
Sophomore point guard Taylor Murray started this season averaging 6.0 points per game and has almost doubled that, averaging 11.9 points per game.
That stat will increase after No. 15 UK Hoops’ 61-48 win over Middle Tennessee State University on Friday. Murray finished with 16 points, as UK moves to 7-2 on the season.
Murray has scored in double-digits in five of six of UK’s most recent games. She missed double-digits against Oklahoma on Dec. 1, finishing with nine points. Murray finished with a career-high 21 in the loss at Louisville.
Murray said her consistent play comes from the confidence she gets from “working each and every day on my game.”
Murray, who came off the bench last season, has found her niche as a starter. As a freshman, she averaged 6.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Her season high was 14 points. She has matched and exceeded that five times already this season.
Makayla Epps went to the bench early in the second quarter after picking up her second personal foul. Head coach Matthew Mitchell said his team could have panicked at the loss of its leader but did the opposite.
Murray said in practice assistant coach Lin Dunn preaches patience on the offense. Murray said her team had to be patient without Epps on the floor.
“If we have another player struggling, it’s just my job to just step up and make sure the team’s relaxed and that we’re not rushing on offense,” Murray said. “That we’re going paced and doing what we’re supposed to.”
Murray not only did her job scoring points but also rebounding. The 5-foot-6 point guard recorded seven rebounds, second highest behind Evelyn Akhator who grabbed 12.
Middle Tennessee State head coach Rick Insell said his team gave up too many rebounds, especially to Murray.
“[Y]ou got Murray coming through there with her athleticism,” Insell said of his team being out rebounded 44-22.
His team was outscored in the paint 34-20 and was held to 17 points in the second half, one less than Middle Tennessee scored in the first quarter. Kentucky’s 61 points was its lowest of the season.
UK Hoops is back in action on Sunday against Arizona State at 1 p.m. in Rupp Arena. The Sun Devils of the Pac 12 are 5-2 and winners of their past three games. They are ranked No. 23 in the USA Today poll and are just out of the top AP 25 poll.
The game is UK Hoops’ “Pack the House” game to encourage fans to fill Rupp Arena. Mitchell would like the game to be the largest crowd for a women’s game nationally this season.
Kindsey Bernhard is a journalism senior at the University of Kentucky. She is from Ft. Wright and played high school basketball at Notre Dame Academy.