Currie-Jelks impresses in Racer debut
WBB: The Jackson, Tennessee product had a double-double in her first Murray State game
After spending the last two years at Indiana, where she played a total of 19 minutes in just nine games, Murray State junior forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks finally got to showcase her skills Friday night in Evansville against Southern Indiana. The 6’2 Currie-Jelks scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Racer win, becoming the third Murray State player in the last six years to have that stat line — joining former Racers Katelyn Young and Ava Learn.
What Racer fans saw in the season-opener was what UT Martin fans got to see a lot of during Currie-Jelks’ freshman season of 2022-23. She averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Skyhawks as a freshman, earning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors, as well as being named 1st Team All-OVC.
While it was just one game in a Racer uniform, Currie-Jelks performance has the Murray State coaching staff excited about the future.
“She kept us in the game in the first half, scoring the basketball and just staying on the glass for us,” Murray State Head Coach Rechelle Turner said about Currie-Jelks’ effort at Southern Indiana. “She just brought a lot of energy and effort. She did a great job guarding their post — I mean, they were big. They were bigger than us in every position on the jump ball. I told my assistants, ‘Look out there. They look like a Power-4 team compared to us because we’re just small.’ That’s part of it, and part of what we have to overcome over time, especially with different matchups. I just think that you’re starting to see a glimpse of what we believe Sharnecce can do. I think as she gets more comfortable and we get deeper into the season, that we expect her to put those numbers up each and every night.”
Currie-Jelks’ next opportunity to produce for the Racers will be tonight when Murray State plays at South Dakota State at 7:00pm.