Jan. 28, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball signee Taylor Murray of Odenton, Md., has been selected to play in the prestigious 2015 McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Game on Wednesday, April 1 in the United Center in Chicago. The game will feature the top 24 high school players around the country representing teams from the East and West and will be televised live on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. EST. Murray will suit up for the East squad.
Murray, a 5-6 point guard, is rated as the No. 18 point guard by espnW and the No. 15 overall player by MaxPreps. She is a four-year starter at Annapolis Area Christian where she averaged a team-high 25.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.3 steals and 3.1 assists last season as a junior. She was named to the Baltimore Sun All-Metro First Team after being a second-team selection as a sophomore and was also a two-time Capital Gazette Communications All-County First Team and two-time Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) All-B Conference (2012 and 2013). As a sophomore in 2012-13, she started in all 21 games, averaging 20.9 points, 11 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 8.4 steals per game along with tallying nine triple doubles.
In the summer of 2013, Murray was named to the USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team where she helped the USA to a 5-0 record, a gold medal and a berth into the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship.
“Taylor Murray is a Kentucky point guard,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “She wants to play defense first. She will get her nose up on the ball. She reminds me of those early really good teams when we had when Amber Smith who would really get up on the ball and harass the ball handler and start our defense. She is that kind of player. She is very fast, very explosive end to end with the basketball, does not turn the ball over. That’s another thing that I love about her. She just makes the simple plays. She’s not the kind of point guard that’s trying to make real flashy plays and drives you crazy as a coach. She really, really plays with a high level of intelligence and values the basketball and so that’s terrific for us”
Murray chose Kentucky over Penn State and West Virginia.
This marks the sixth consecutive year Kentucky will have a signee play in the McDonald’s All-American game and Murray is the school-record ninth high school All-American in eight seasons of the Matthew Mitchell era.
Next year, Murray will join four other fellow McDonald’s All-Americans on UK’s squad in Makayla Epps (Lebanon, Ky.), Linnae Harper (Chicago), Alyssa Rice (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and Janee Thompson (Chicago).
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or charge-by-phone at 1-866-909-GAME (4263). Ticket prices start as low as $10, and are also available in a popular family four-pack which includes four tickets, four soft drinks and four hot dogs – all for $53. Parking is free the night of the Games.
Net proceeds from the Games benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). Since its inception, the McDonald’s All American Games have raised more than $11 million for the Charity, which supports the critical needs of children and families during a difficult time. Through its core programs, like Ronald McDonald House, RMHC provides stability and vital resources so families can get and keep their children healthy and happy.
