Murray State women's basketball: What to know about Iowa's NCAA Tournament opponent
The Hawkeyes are heading to Oklahoma for the weekend.
Iowa was named a No. 6 seed in this year's women's NCAA Tournament. Coach Jan Jensen's inaugural team will take on No. 11 Murray State in the first round, potentially setting up a second-round game vs. former Iowa star Jennie (Lillis) Baranczyk.
Here's what to know about Murray State.
Murray State women's basketball: Record, stats and more
- Location: Murray, Kentucky
- Record: 25-7
- Conference: Missouri Valley Conference (16-4; first place)
NCAA Tournament history: The Racers are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance. The other trip to the Big Dance came back in 2008, when Murray State won the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a No. 14 seed. Duke defeated Murray State in the first round, 78-57.
The Racers are aptly named. Murray State plays fast and leads the nation in scoring (87.8 points per game). Its defense allows 72.1 points per game, which is 328th -best in the country out of 362 Division I teams.
In other words, expect a lot of points.
Murray State is not shy about letting it fly, averaging 10.2 made 3-pointers per game (second most in the nation).
Murray State players to watch
Halli Poock may be a familiar name for Hawkeye fans.
Poock is a Waterloo native who starred in high school at Waterloo West. She was a fixture at the state tournament, leading Waterloo West to Wells Fargo Arena four years in a row. Poock scored 20 or more points in the state quarterfinals all four years and led the team to an appearance in the state championship game as a junior.
Poock hasn't slowed down much at the college level. She began her collegiate career last year at Bradley, averaging 14.9 points per game as a freshman. She transferred to Murray State for her sophomore season and is putting up 17.1 points per game to go with 4.4 assists.
Poock is one of four Murray State players averaging 10 or more points, alongside forward Katelyn Young (22.2 points, 6.4 rebounds), Haven Ford (15.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists) and Ava Learn (13.9 points, 9.7 rebounds).
Young, a 6-foot-1 forward, is a career 3,000-point scorer in her five years at Murray State and led the conference in scoring three times.
Iowa vs. Murray State: Tickets to the women's NCAA Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma
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