Then there are times when a Central Texas youngster signs with a school and the view from afar is, “Hmm, now that’s different.”
Kaetlyn Murdoch, a 2008 Temple High School graduate, obviously knew what she was doing when she agreed to attend and play basketball for the University of Denver, and for that the Lady Pioneers already are glad.
“With freshmen it’s hard to know how quickly they will come along,” Denver first-year coach Erik Johnson said. “Kaetlyn has such a good sense for the game of basketball. The kid can play. The more I’m getting to know her, I’m not surprised she’s coming along this quickly. She’s a great player already.”
Murdoch, a 5-11 forward, recently forged her way into the starting lineup just as the Lady Pioneers begin their trek through the Sun Belt Conference. A trio of double-double outings tends to accelerate that kind of promotion.
Going into the weekend, Murdoch leads Denver in points (121), points per game (10.1), offensive rebounds (35) and blocked shots (15). She is second in field-goal percentage (.588) and total rebounds (6.3 per game).
“I just came here to help wherever the coach needs me,” said Murdoch, a four-year stalwart for former coach Don Layton’s Tem-Cat teams. “It’s a big difference (from high school). It’s a lot faster. But I have the support of my team and a coach that’s pushing me the whole time.”
Murdoch is one of the building blocks on which Johnson is trying to turn the Lady Pioneers’ program around. Denver went 11-19 last season and is picked to finish sixth in the seven-team western division of the vast Sun Belt. Going into the weekend the Lady Pioneers were 6-6 overall and 1-1 in league play.
“I think we have a great team here,” Murdoch said, adding that she’s had to memorize 30 plays as opposed to the handful she did in high school. “We jell real well together. We have great chemistry and (get along) on the court.”
Murdoch, a mechanical engineering major, has had much to do with the bonding of the Lady Pioneers.
“She’s very athletic and very aggressive. She moves off the ball well and catches everything. She’s an energy player,” said Johnson, whose team will come to Texas only once, for a Jan. 14 meeting with conference foe North Texas in Denton. “Off the court she’s a goof and is able to keep things loose. All the kids love her. She brings more than one dimension to the team.”
Johnson said there is room for Murdoch to improve but that her upside is high. There is work to do on her jump shot, perimeter game and passing.
“That kid hasn’t even scratched the surface of how good she can be,” Johnson said. “You see her get better every day. She’ll work and work and work to get better. She loves the game.”
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Murdoch’s former Temple teammate Porscha Weddington still is very much of a factor for the Kansas Jayhawks as they try to scale difficult Big 12 Conference obstacles.
Weddington, a 6-1 junior forward, has started several games this season but currently is getting plenty of minutes off the bench for Bonnie Henrickson’s team.
Weddington is averaging 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She leads the team in blocked shots, is second in offensive rebounds and third in field-goal percentage.
Although the Jayhawks were 9-2 going into the weekend, the mega-tough Big 12 slate is just over the horizon. Kansas is much-improved but still figures to be a second-division team in a league with top-10 programs Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor. The Jayhawks will be in College Station to play Texas A&M on Jan. 31 and in Austin to meet Texas on Feb. 11.
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When the Temple College women’s basketball team meets rival McLennan in a pair of Monday showdowns - Jan. 19 at TC Gym and Feb. 16 in Waco - it will serve as a mini-reunion of old District 13-5A rivals.
Harker Heights graduate Shaquitta Martin is a newcomer for the Lady Leopards, while Belton’s Gabby Guzman and Copperas Cove’s Kiara Farley are contributing components for MCC’s Highlassies.
Martin is averaging 5.5 points per game for TC. Farley, a sophomore, is among the top three assist leaders in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference with five per game and is scoring just under 10 points an outing coming into the weekend. Freshman Guzman had scored 34 points before the semester break.
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North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow has served as an inspiration to thousands as she continues her long battle with breast cancer while remaining active as the Lady Wolfpack leader. Her fight has inspired an initiative from the national Women’s Basketball Coaches Association called the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
High-profile college games have dedicated an evening’s proceeds to the fund, with teams donning special pink and white uniforms to drive home the point.
The Belton district’s middle schools - Belton and Lake Belton - are doing their part, as well.
Players for both the seventh- and eighth-grade girls teams are seeking $20 sponsorships to purchase pink and white game shirts for their Jan. 12 games at Belton Middle School. Proceeds will be donated to a local cause and sponsors’ names will appear on the shirts. Concessions, gate receipts and a pass-the-bucket campaign also will be donated.
Lake Belton eighth-grade coach Fran Garmon is a friend of Yow’s. Both are founding members of the WBCA and they coached together in international competition.
For more information, contact Belton Middle School girls coordinator Pam Ernest at 215-2868 or Lake Belton girls coordinator Sharon Phillips at 215-2967.
twaits@temple-telegram.com
