TOWSON, Md. – Thirty-three games and 147 assists later, Qierra Murray, known as Q. Murray, set the single-season assist record at Towson.
 
She did so during the Tigers' first program appearance in the women's basketball NCAA Tournament, in March of 2019.
 
Her third stop in college, Murray arrived at Towson after she decided that basketball was over for her. The Baltimore, Maryland native transferred to TU after finishing her redshirt-sophomore season at Appalachian State.
 
What brought her back to the court was head coach Diane Richardson.
 
"I saw that she was the head coach here, and I've known her since I was in eighth grade, when she was at Riverdale," Murray said. "I already had a relationship with her, so I reached out to her and she welcomed me with open arms."
 
Murray joined the Tigers and was a key piece of the 'core four' players that led to the conference title last season. Averaging 4.4 assists and 8.5 points per game the point guard inked her name in the record book last year.
 
She doesn't attribute the success to anything but playing her game.
 
"This is what I've been doing my whole life, and especially being back home, with my support system of my family, going out there and really having fun," Murray said. "My freshman year, that first year you are kind of just getting through it, my sophomore year I dedicated that to my App State coach who was battling cancer, I never really was playing for me. When I came here, even though I had taken time off, this was for me."
 
This season, she set the same record, again, in less time. In 28 games Murray recorded 148 assists, finishing with 151 through 29 games and holding the top two spots on the single-season assist leader board.
The season was cut short due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, Towson did not play a single game in the 2020 CAA Championship tournament. The night before the regular season finale, she reflected on how far she had come.
 
"To accomplish what I accomplished, after being off for a year, felt really good, and to do it again this year… I'm just having fun," Murray said. "I don't ever put pressure on myself, numbers were never a big thing to me. It's always an honor to reach those accomplishments, but the overall goal is always to get the hardware at the end of the day."
 
In her final season, Murray showed up stronger in many box scores than her previous year with the Tigers.
 
The point guard was the third leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.1 points per game, also posting 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, with 57 steals and the most minutes played on the team. Most notably, on January 26 against Hofstra she scored 22 points for the most she ever scored at Towson.
 
Against Mount St. Mary's Murray had a career-high 10 rebounds, she also recorded her first double-double with 13 points and 12 assists against Hofstra in February.
 
Again, Murray hits the hardwood and does what she feels.
 
"I go out there and play hard, do whatever I can for my team to help my team win," Murray said. "I think also just having fun, letting the game come to me. when I do need to make a play, whatever Coach Rich needs me to do, that's what I'm going to do. I don't think it's attributed to anything really, I'm using my veteran experience and staying calm, not putting pressure on myself. The game will come to you as long as you are doing what you're supposed to do."
 
Her freshman year, 2014-15, was spent not far from Baltimore, at George Mason, where she played in 29 games with 13 starts and was named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Murray sat out the next year for NCAA transfer rules before playing the 16-17 year as a Mountaineer in Boone, North Carolina.
 
Murray started in all 30 games and averaged 10.3 points per game, with a career-high 25 against Arkansas State.
 
After that season, Murray did not do so much as watch the NBA Finals. She was going to be done with basketball and went nine months without playing pick up or even dribbling a ball.
 
When the stars aligned and she returned to her hometown area, connecting with Richardson and joining the roster, she was then part of something that had not been done in program history.
 
"Sometimes it's still surreal to me," Murray said. "I hadn't touched a ball in like nine months, so my first workout I was like 'oh my God, I suck,' no matter how good you are, if you leave it alone for a long time you're going to be rusty. That summer, going through preseason, Coach Rich said she needed me to be the point guard so I took on that responsibility."
 
"Not only to get to the conference championship, but after being ranked eighth in the preseason, that was always in the back of our minds. There was never any doubt in my mind about that game. Even when we were down most of the game, that last minute and half where I had the steal, Kiya (Nukiya Mayo) had the shot then Melo (Kionna Jeter) had the shot, never any doubt in my mind, I knew we were going to win this game. When that buzzer went off it was a mix of emotions, like everything happens for a reason."
 
Last year brought together a group of players; that was the most important aspect for Murray and her time at Towson.
 
"It's more about the people I was doing it with," she said. "For me, it wasn't necessarily getting to a conference championship, it was these bonds I've created and who I got there with, my teammates and the coaching staff. We are a tight-knit group, we all have a sense of love for one another and that is rare. That's the major difference between the other schools and playing here."
 
Murray still has courses to finish her master's degree in professional studies that she is currently working on. No doubt she will still come cheer on her former teammates while finishing her degree at Towson.
 
She has fond memories with this team and the family they have together. It is something she will miss the most.
 
"Definitely the memories with my teammates, everyone knows how close I am with Melo, Kiya and Ryan . Even off the court, all of us being in the dorms together, watching Power on Sunday, things like that. Through arguments and all that, it's a really family vibe and I will definitely miss that the most."
 
Before she even knew the season would be cut short, Murray reflected on how far she had come to reaching that trophy presentation last spring. A moment, a day, a few hours that will forever be emblazoned in her memory when she thinks about the Tigers and all they did together.
 
"Two years before that I thought my career was over, then two years later I'm a champion, and that's forever," she said. "That's what stands out the most, all the hard work, all the tears, and to accomplish something so big with the people I love around me, that's what sticks out the most."