Editor’s note: Baltimore Watchdog reporters enrolled in a sports journalism course conducted group interviews with Towson athletes in late October. Below are their profile stories.
By Ryan Leshko
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Many of Q. Murray’s most memorable moments — on and off the basketball court — have taken place at Towson’s SECU Arena. Her high school graduation and state championship game. Her college graduation (she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in December 2018). And setting Towson’s single-season assist record on the way to winning the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament.
“I feel like I was supposed to be here all along,” Murray said.
But for Murray, the starting point guard for the Tigers, the path to Towson wasn’t easy.
Murray grew up in Baltimore and attended high school at Milford Mill. She modeled her style of play and her mentality after point guard Russell Westbrook.
“He is relentless on both sides of the court,” Murray said. “I love how unapologetic he is, like no matter what the media says about him, he just goes out there and plays his game.”
Murray’s relentlessness earned her many accolades in high school and attracted college coaches on the recruiting trail. She began her career at George Mason and then transferred to Appalachian State, where she went through difficult times. She didn’t pick up a basketball for nearly a year.
“It was tough,” Murray said. “I didn’t want to watch basketball. I was down. I was in a pretty dark place…I thought my career was over. I went into a depression.”
But her career was far from over.
Towson coach Diane Richardson, who has known Murray since she was in eighth grade, gave her a chance. Murray liked the thought of being closer to home, allowing her friends and family to watch her play.
“I just wanted that family feel again,” Murray said.
Richardson liked what we saw from Murray during recruitment.
“I have always known Q to be a competitor,” Richardson said. “As a first-year head coach, I needed someone like her to forge my vision of a team culture of competitiveness and accountability.”
Murray was grateful for the chance to prove herself again. “When I came here and coach Richardson gave me the opportunity, I just broke down because I thought I went from my career being over to having a scholarship.”
Still, getting back to basketball wasn’t easy. Admittedly, her skills had depleted during her time off.
“Coach Richardson said, ‘I need you to run this team’ and I said, ‘Dang, I’m not really together yet and now I have the responsibility of myself and this whole team. That was challenging,” Murray said.
But she was up to the challenge. She gained the trust of her coach and her teammates.
“Q. Murray is very serious about whatever she is into, on and off the court,” Richardson said. “She is big on accountability and working on goals. Her competitive spirit pushes her and it rubs off on others. She is a good motivator because she is a great goal setter.”
One of her goals for this season: Average a double-double and break her own single-season assist record.
“I want to break my own record,” Murray said. “I think my goal for this year, I set it to 200 assists (she had 147 last year). We have a lot of good guards who are coming in who can shoot it.”
Added Murray: “I want to average a double-double this year, somewhere between 14 and 10 or 12 and 10. I’ve never averaged a double-double.”
Richardson is confident Q will achieve her goal.
“She is such a goal setter, I don’t doubt that she will break her own record,” Richardson said. “She set a goal to average a double-double and she worked on her shot this summer to be able to contribute more offensively.”
Murray looks to lead her team to another conference championship this season. Her road to Towson wasn’t easy, but she knows everything happens for a reason.
“The universe works, God works,” Murray said. “So, you just have to trust the timing of everything. I guess I can say I’m glad it happened.”
By Tim Klapac
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
As confetti rained down from the roof of the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center in March, Q. Murray couldn’t help but feel gratified after a trying past few years. She felt she was supposed to be here, leading the Towson women’s basketball team to its first Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship and NCAA tournament berth.
“When they say everything happens for a reason, it really does,” the redshirt senior guard said. “I went from not knowing if I was playing again to having a ring in my house.”
Murray, in her first year with the Tigers after transferring from Appalachian State, was a big reason why Towson was in the top half of the conference during the regular season and took the conference title. She led the Tigers with 147 assists, setting a school record in the process. But the journey to the top wasn’t easy for Murray, and that is something she doesn’t take for granted.
“I hadn’t picked up a ball in nine months,” she said, referring to the period after she left Appalachian State. “I lost 27 pounds and was clinically depressed. Coach [Diane] Richardson said I need you to run this team. That was challenging but I overcame it and I think I did a pretty good job.”
Murray’s move to TU was the second transfer of her collegiate career. After initially attending George Mason, Murray joined the Mountaineers, and then the Tigers. After spending two years in the mountains in Boone, North Carolina, the Baltimore native, who played high school basketball at nearby Milford Mill Academy, was happy to be playing at home, in the arena where she already made plenty of memories.
“I won my high school championship in [SECU Arena], I graduated from Milford in SECU, got my bachelor’s degree here, so I was supposed to be here,” she said.
Playing close to home means Murray can see the support of her friends and family at almost every game.
“When I was at Appalachian State, up in the mountains, my mom could only make one game a month cause all of our games were down south,” she said. “Here, we go to JMU, that’s a drive, Delaware, that’s a drive, so my mom is at every game and that’s beneficial.”
Being closer to home was one reason why Murray decided to finish her career at Towson. Another was a familiarity with Towson coach Diane Richardson, whom she has known since eighth grade. Richardson had followed Murray’s career and was eager to add her to the roster.
“As a first-year head coach, I needed someone like her to forge my vision of a team culture of competitiveness and accountability,” Richardson said.
Upon joining the team for the 2018-2019 season, Murray was trusted with being the floor general, something that Richardson had zero doubts in when she made the decision.
“I trust Q. and gave her responsibilities as a leader because I know that she is very mature and shared the same vision of being a winner as I have,” Richardson said. “No matter what opinion Q has, she always put the team ahead of what she wants.”
Although Richardson was confident in Murray, point guard was a position Murray had never played before. The challenge of mastering a new position put Murray into the mindset of her favorite NBA player, Russell Westbrook.
“He just goes out there and does him,” Murray said. “I try to play my game and don’t worry about outside distractions.”
Richardson knew that Murray could not only master being a point guard but find a way to raise the bar for the position.
“I asked Q. to be our point guard last year out of necessity,” Richardson said. “She had never played that position before, but she buckled right in as a team player and worked on her skills to attempt to fill that role.”
Being the oldest player on the team, Murray has more responsibility than just running the show on the court. Her leadership off the court is what Richardson sees that sets her apart.
“We brought in seven new players and it opened up seven different attitudes to add to the culture that we solidified last year,” Richardson said. “She has painstakingly taken on the task of bringing everyone together.”
Added Murray: “[Teammates] already come to me for a lot of stuff, and this team is very complex. That aspect of being connected with the players and developing them as young women is the type of role I would be in.”
Being a leader means keeping the team focused on the common goal, which for Towson is to repeat as CAA champions. The Tigers have a target on their back, but Murray believes their experience last season can handle any challenges this year.
“We played UConn” she said. “We played the best, so nothing scares us now.”
Murray has set personal goals as well.
“I want to break my own record,” she said. “I set it to 200 assists. We have a lot of good guards that can shoot it, so I’d like to break my own record.”
Richardson’s confidence in Murray is clear when hearing about those goals.
“She is such a goal setter, I don’t doubt that she will break her own record,” Richardson said. “She set a goal to average a double-double and she worked on her shot this summer to be able to contribute more offensively.”
Murray’s path to Towson has had a lot of turns along the way, but the belief that everything happens for a reason keeps her confident in her decision to be a Tiger and why she can keep improving.
“Being a great leader and having that dog in me,” she said. “I came in at the bottom. Coming in and having that heart and grit to take it all the way and lead my team to a championship.”
By Robert Kenly
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
A new beginning. That is what Towson was last season for Q. Murray, the 23-year-old starting point guard for the women’s basketball team.
Murray, a Baltimore native, took a winding path to playing at Towson. But her first year was memorable, as the Tigers won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. It was even more special for Murray given that her family and friends could see her play.
“It was a good feeling just to know that you have that local city support,” Murray said. “That always makes everything more fun.”
But Murray’s college basketball career hasn’t always been smooth. After graduating from Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore, she played at George Mason, starting 13 games and averaging 4.9 points per game. Following the 2014-15 season, Murray transferred to Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. Due to NCAA transfer rules, she sat out the 2015-16 season.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2016-2017, she picked up right where she left off, leading Appalachian State in steals (1.9 per game) and finishing second on the team in assists (2.5 per game). But off the court, she was struggling. Murray was far away from home and her mental health had deteriorated.
Once again, she was planning to transfer — and this time she was in a dark place.
“I did not pick up a basketball for nine months,” Murray said. “I lost 27 pounds and was clinically depressed.”
Murray said she feared her basketball career was over. But Towson coach Diane Richardson was ready to give her a shot. She had followed Murray’s career closely and had known her since she was in eighth grade.
Murray was drawn to Towson not only due to her familiarity with Richardson but also because it was close to home. She was also given a new opportunity: playing point guard for the first time.
“I asked Q to be our point guard last year out of necessity,” Richardson said. “She buckled right in as a team player and worked on her skills in order to fill that role.”
Added Richardson: “I trust Q. and gave her responsibilities as a leader because I know that she is very mature and shares the same vision of being a winner as I have. No matter what opinion Q has, she always puts the team ahead of what she wants.”
Murray made the most of her chance, leading Towson to a 20-13 record and 11-7 in conference play. She started all 33 games for the Tigers and finished the season by becoming the single-season assist record holder (147).
Towson finished fourth in the conference during the regular season but beat Delaware, Hofstra and Drexel to take the tournament title. “There was never a doubt in our mind,” Murray said. “We were going to win.”
Towson received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, losing to No. 2 UConn 110-61.
“We took it as an experience because everybody’s dream is to either play for UConn or against them,” Murray said. “We took it in and nobody went out nervous, we were ready.”
In her senior season, Murray hopes to break her assist record and lead Towson to a repeat title. She’s back in an environment where she is comfortable and feels grateful that everything worked out.
“The universe works, and God works,” Murray said. “You just have to trust the timing of everything.”
By Eric Himmelheber
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
“I thought my career was over.”
It’s something that many college athletes have felt for a variety of reasons. Q. Murray thought it was true midway through her college basketball career after she left Appalachian state. But it wasn’t true — and Murray, after a low point, quickly rebounded to lead the Towson women’s basketball team to the Colonial Athletic Association conference title last season.
The turnaround was even sweeter because Murray did so in her hometown in front of her friends and family. Now in her senior season, Murray, 23, looks to leave a legacy that many won’t soon forget.
“It’s a lot of love,” Murray said. “It feels good when you have a support system. Seeing your support system, that always makes everything more fun and just easier.”
But Murray’s journey to Towson was anything but easy.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Murray went to Milford Mill Academy, where she led the Lady Millers to a state championship during the 2013-2014 season. She started her college career at George Mason, which is less than two hours away from home.
Murray eventually transferred to Appalachian State, where she played for one season. Being hundreds of miles from home, in Boone, North Carolina, was difficult — and her family was unable to see many of her games. Murray struggled with her mental health as well.
“I was going through a lot of depression,” Murray said. “I lost 27 pounds. I was clinically depressed.”
Despite averaging more points per game and receiving more playing time than she did at George Mason, Murray was clear that she wanted to come closer to home. She found that home at Towson. But the transition wasn’t easy.
“I hadn’t picked up a ball in nine months,” Murray said of the period before coming to Towson in fall 2018. “When [Towson] coach [Diane] Richardson said, ‘I need you to run this team’, I wasn’t even together yet.'”
But Richardson saw something special in Murray and decided to give her a shot at redemption.
“With my situation at App State, I thought my career was over,” said Murray. “When [Richardson] gave me that opportunity here, I just broke down. Having my career being over to getting a scholarship… It’s pretty awesome.”
At Towson, Murray set the single-season record for assists (147) and was also second in the CAA in assists per game (4.5) and third on the team in scoring (8.5 points per game). Murray even surprised herself with how she played after being away from the game.
“You can work all the time, but if you take a year off to do anything, those skills are going to deplete,” said Murray. “On the court, I thought ‘Dang, why can’t I do this?’ At the end of the day, I had this responsibility. I couldn’t just focus on me. Then my teammates put that trust in me and gave me confidence.”
Such confidence led to Towson’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, a moment Murray will never forget.
“It was a great experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Murray said.