Following a solid freshman year in which former Owensboro Catholic standout Hannah McKay contributed off the bench, the sophomore forward is having a career year while helping the Murray State women’s basketball team reach new heights as a starter.
The Racers recently closed out the regular season with a blowout 86-54 win over Southeast Missouri University, finishing with an overall record of 21-8. McKay tallied five points, five rebounds and three steals, as they tied the school’s single-season record for wins.
McKay has been a major factor in Murray State’s success this season, averaging 12.2 ppg and 6.6 rpg while starting in 28 out of 29 games. This is a noticeable up-tick in production from the 2020-21 season, in which she averaged 6.0 ppg and 4.3 rpg while starting in three of the 22 games she played.
McKay has also made herself a threat from the perimeter by shooting 34% from beyond the arc (21-62), an increase from her 25% (5-20) clip from last season.
“I just tried to get in the gym and just do extra work,” McKay said. “The main thing I worked on in the offseason was my outside shot so I would be harder to defend in three different levels instead of just being mainly a post player.”
The former Miss Basketball Finalist said that while she’s more than willing to take on any role the team needs, she’s been thrilled to contribute so many key minutes and be a key cog in the Racers success.
“I feel a lot more comfortable,” McKay said. “Honestly, it wouldn’t bother me coming off of the bench. Last year being a freshman obviously I was a little nervous to begin with and so coming off the bench was pretty exciting and now this year it feels pretty good to be a starter and play a high [volume] of minutes.”
The former Lady Aces standout said she has her time at Owensboro Catholic to thank for helping her get to this level athletically, especially her fellow seniors she graduated with following the 2019-2020 season.
“The group of girls I graduated with really helped me grow,” McKay said. “Because we grew up together and it helped on the floor because we were really close.”
McKay has made her way back to her hometown of Owensboro to see her former team on multiple occasions, loving to watch former teammate and current senior Camille Conkright and the program that has such a major impact on her life.
“It meant a lot [to be a part of Owensboro Catholic girls basketball],” McKay said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to have gone anywhere else. I loved the environment there and it was like a family there. I miss it a lot, but I love Murray State too.”
Now keeping her eye on the prize like she was with the Lady Aces, McKay is hoping to bring home some hardware for Murray State.
They have earned the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament, giving them a bye to the quarterfinals where they will take on the winner of UT-Martin and SIUE. McKay knows that the Racers path to their first OVC Title since 2008 and second in program history won’t be easy, but thinks that they are more than capable of climbing that mountain.
“We’ve worked really hard to get to this point,” McKay said. “I think we have a really good chance of winning the OVC, we’re just gonna have to keep working. We still have a lot to work for.”
