Looking to build onto last year's 27-6 finish and NJCAA National Tournament berth, Murray State women's basketball coach Steve Lowe has announced the signing of 11 newcomers, including five international players.
The 11-player signing class will join five returnees, four of which picked up valuable starting experience a season ago, including All American Briana Knabe, who was a juco Top 40 Showcase participants this summer. Reese Webb, Lanie Gooch and Mattie Busby also saw starting time with Tarrin Tyler back after redshirting last year.
A pair of Australians could make a huge impact early on after staring for powerhouse Box Hill Academy in Melbourne, Australia. Bella Peterson is a 5-8 high-energy player that also excelled in track and field in high school and was originally a Division I commit. She will be joined by teammate Remi Langmaid, who was a shooting guard in her prep action.
Tamara Fournillier-Onadeko is originally from London, England and a transfer from University of Illinois-Chicago. She is a 5-foot-10 athletic wing that was one of the top U16 players in London.
Teniola Okunrinkoya is another London product that is already penciled in as a defensive stopper thanks to her outstanding athleticism. Also added to the mix is 6-foot-3 post player Awa Jawara from Gambia.
The American contingent of newcomers includes Jade Millan, a 5-10 transfer from Mid America Christian University as well as Payton James, a point guard that originally hails from Sulphur but spent last season at West Alabama.
Lowe also has high hopes for Whitesboro, Texas product Austyn Wright, who is coming back from injury, in addition to Paige Taylor of Arlington and Cristina Laudan from Sallisaw, Oklahoma. All three will have a chance to contribute inside.
"It's really tough to know what we have in there right now, so it's completely wide open inside," Lowe said. "That was an area of strength by the end of the season for us a year ago, so we will be replacing the best post in the conference. The question is can those newcomers rebound and defend early. Scoring usually comes later.
"We have a terrific group of starters back that are hungry and competitive. We have still got to figure out who the shooters are because we still want to space it out and play. Every year is a different dynamic though and those first few months we are just trying to figure out how all the pieces fit."
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