Former SGTC standout, Murray, signs professional deal

Published 10:17 am Monday, October 17, 2016

From STAFF REPORTS

RICHMOND, Ky. — Former South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) and Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) standout, Shameekia “Polly” Murray, recently signed a professional contract with the DePiro Basketball Club.
DePiro is an affiliate of the Malta Basketball Association located in Mtarfa, Malta. Malta is a southern European island in the Mediterranean which lies approximately 50 miles from Italy.
Murray, a 5’ 10” guard from Claxton, Ga., helped lead SGTC to a 30-5 overall record during her sophomore season, in 2013-14.  She was also voted the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Player of the Year and MVP of the NJCAA Region XVII Tournament. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I second team All-American averaged 17.2 points-per-game, 7.2 rebounds-per-game, 2.9 assists-per- game, and 2.6 steals-per-game as a Lady Jet in 2013-14.
Murray signed with EKU and spent two seasons with the Colonels. She quickly made an impact for Chrissy Roberts’ team. Murray averaged 14.3 points-per-game during her tenure at EKU, shooting 44 percent from the floor.
“I’m excited about Shameekia having the opportunity to play overseas,” Roberts said. “She is a very talented player who has worked extremely hard to fulfill her dream of playing professional basketball. She will be successful at the next level. I am looking forward to following her professional career.”
Murray exploded onto the scene in her first season at EKU on her way to All-OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) honors. She averaged 14.0 points-per-game and 4.4 rebounds-per-game. She also shot 46.4 percent (148-of-319) from the field and led the team with 44 steals.
A native of Claxton, Murray was named second team All-OVC in both of her seasons with the Colonels. She earned the honor in her first season in Richmond in addition to being named to the OVC All-Newcomer team, after transferring from SGTC.
Murray finished the 2015-16 regular season eighth in the conference in scoring with 14.3 points-per-game while pulling down 5.3 rebounds and dishing out 2.7 assists-per-game. She shot a team-best 78 percent from the free-throw line and was ninth-best in the conference.
Her 34-point performance on 13-of-19 (68 percent) shooting in EKU’s 88-82 win over Saint Francis (Dec. 21, 2015) marked a career high. In only two seasons with the program, Murray amassed 801 career points in 56 games, while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor.
Murray scored in double figures in 23 games her senior season and 42 times as a Colonel.