Morris, Murray Refuse to Let UK Careers End
Reality came into sharp focus for Maci Morris and Taylor Murray.
Down at halftime to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, their Kentucky careers were 20 minutes away from ending.
Unless they did something to change that reality.
“I thought our players came out in the third quarter and really, really did a great job getting control of the game,” Matthew Mitchell said. “I thought we had a good halftime session and just so proud of our two seniors stepping up and leading the way and leading us to a great victory in this NCAA Tournament.”
Morris and Murray – two of the best guards in program history – weren’t about to go quietly. Trailing 30-26 at the break and having combined for 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, the two seniors went off and kept the season alive for sixth-seeded Kentucky (25-7). Behind their two leaders, the Cats survived an upset bid by 11th-seeded Princeton (22-10) with an 82-77 victory.
It was an explosive third quarter for Morris and Murray. In leading the Cats to a 28-15 scoring edge in the quarter, Morris made all four of her shots and scored 11 points – including a buzzer-beating 3 to extend UK’s lead to nine – while Murray added eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“It felt really good,” Morris said. “When I see them go in like that, it just gets me going. So it felt really good since I’ve been struggling a little bit this past few games.”
All told, Morris and Murray combined for nearly half of UK’s scoring output. Morris had 19 points and Murray matched her while adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Twenty-seven of the seniors’ combined 38 points came as UK took control with a potent second half.
“Well, we’re excited to advance in the tournament,” Mitchell said. “Very proud of our team for the victory. I’d like to first say really compliment Princeton. What an outstanding team they have, what a great season they have had. They were well-coached and played hard and were as prepared as anyone we’ve seen all season and it was a real, real tough game, which we’re very proud to win against that opponent we have much respect for.”
Morris and Murray will next work to extend their UK careers Monday when the Wildcats will take on No. 3 seed and host North Carolina State after the Wolfpack downed No. 14 Maine later on Saturday. Based on the way they played in the second half against Princeton, it would be unwise to bet against them.
“Today we just are extremely proud of our players and our team for fighting so hard,” Mitchell said. “It’s our you know, first victory in this tournament and now we will just try to get some rest. It was a very tough game, very physical game. Again, Princeton fought so hard and we really had to play with a lot of energy today to get this victory. So we’ll just try to get some rest and just keep the players full of positivity.”
