bball

On Wednesday night, Murray State basketball returned to the CFSB Center, as the Murray State Racers took on the Bethel Wildcats in an exhibition game.

Within the matchup, two former McCracken County Lady Mustangs came face-to-face for the first time, as Murray State sophomore Destiny Thomas and Bethel freshman Mikee Buchanan matched up against one another.

While Buchanan made the starting five for the Wildcats, the two wouldn’t share the floor until 6:22 of the first quarter, when Buchanan checked back into the game, matching directly up against Thomas.

“It was awesome to play against her, back in high school we used to talk about where we wanted to go to college, and now here we are guarding each other,” Thomas said. “It’s very rewarding; I know how hard she’s worked, and she knows how hard I worked, and for us to be on the same floor at a college level is just amazing.”

“It was so cool to play against Destiny, but it was very different for sure,” Buchanan said. “We may be on different teams now, but I think we’re still cheering each other on.”

Buchanan and Thomas spent four years as teammates at McCracken County, beginning in the 2019-20 season when Buchanan first made the varsity roster as an eighth grader. In that span, the Lady Mustangs would win a pair of First Region championships, finishing as runners-up in the 2022-23 State Tournament, Thomas’ senior season.

“All of the coaching staff at McCracken got us to where we needed to be. It’s such a great program, if you go there and work hard, you’re going to be rewarded,” Thomas said, lauding McCracken County basketball. “Look at Claire Johnson, as well, the coaches really put their heart into us three, and it’s paid off.”

Thomas finished her night with eight points and seven rebounds as the Racers came away with a comfortable win, 98-66.

“This was the first time Destiny was able to fully play [this year], we had a scare with her knocking knees so this was the first time she was suiting up and going full-on. If she has eight points and seven boards every night, I’d take that right now,” Racers head coach Rechelle Turner said, on Thomas’ performance. “She brings such energy to the team at the top of our press, the way she moves, the way she goes about her business. Having her on the floor is something we must have this year, she’s going to bring a lot to this team.”

Across the floor, Buchanan put forward an impressive showing in her first taste of collegiate action, finishing as Bethel’s joint-top scorer with 14 points on the night. Just shy of a double-double, Buchanan brought in nine rebounds on the night, as well as picking up a pair of blocks.

“For it being my first college game, it wasn’t too bad. I had a lot of help from my teammates, they put me in great positions to score, and I’m thankful for that,” Buchanan said. “It was exciting to get to play with a new team, and see what we could do. Even though we took a loss, we got to run through some new plays, and executed on what we needed to.”

Elsewhere in the win for the Racers, sophomore Halli Poock led the way on offense in her Murray State debut, picking up 21 points on the night. Katelyn Young would record a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Haven Ford also made an impact with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Racers will officially begin their regular season next Thursday, November 7, when they host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville back at the CFSB Center.