Photo by: Junior Kaetlyn Murdoch, senior Brianna Culberson and junior Britteni Rice pose together in Magness Arena following DUb
This year is a historical moment for DU’s basketball program. It is the first time that three players have each scored 1,000 points within their DU basketball careers — yet Brianna Culberson, Britteni Rice and Kaetlyn Murdoch continue to shoot every point with only their team in mind, instead of their individual status.
Culberson, a senior, from Jefferson City, Mo., shot her 1,000th point in the game against Middle Tennessee. Despite this memorable accomplishment, she did not lose focus.
“When I scored my 1,000th point I was happy and relieved, but it didn’t last long. It was an intense game and you never really want to be out of focus during games like that,” said Culberson.
Not only does Culberson have a 1,000 point career racked up on her shelf of accomplishments, but she was also named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season.
In last weekend’s win, the senior forward set a new career-high in points, leading the Pioneers (13-8, 5-3 SBC) to 86-67 win over North Texas with 27 points. Not far behind her was Rice, who finished with a season-high 22 points, and then Murdoch with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
For Culberson her scoring breakout came later than her junior counterparts, following setbacks earlier in her career.
Coming in as a freshman in 2006, Culberson averaged 4.4 points per game. She struggled to regain her performance for the next couple of seasons after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.
On the other hand, upon recover, Culberson proved herself to not only be a phenomenal player, but a strong asset to her team, ranking third in the Sun Belt Conference and averaging 13.5 points per game.
However, the on and off court chemistry between Culberson, Rice and Murdoch cannot be denied and Culberson expressed that from both of her players she has learned “perseverance, hard work, the need to have a good time with the people that are around you, and to appreciate the things that you have.”
Rice, a senior from Pampa, Texas, scored her 1,000th-point shot in the game against San Jose State in early December. Being the 15th player on DU’s all-time scoring list, she has racked up an astonishing 1,125 points in her Pioneer career. Last year, she finished the season with a 40.7 field goal percentage.
Because of the lack of players on last year’s roster, Rice said that since the team played so many minutes with each other, they really found their chemistry. The players began to pick up several of each other’s strengths including offensive and defensive strategies, as well as rebounding.
After this year, Murdoch, a junior from Temple, Texas, will be stepping and put to use the leadership qualities that Rice and Culberson have exemplified this season.
Last year, Murdoch was No. 1 in the All-Conference selection as well as finishing 3rd in the nation in total field goal percentage.
Murdoch accomplished her 1,000th shot just 11 days after Rice in the game against the University of Texas at El Paso.
“I didn’t even know I was close. Everyone started screaming and it was kind of shocking, but it was a nice accomplishment to be able to help out the team,” said Murdoch.
Regardless of their outstanding statistics and accomplishments, Culberson, Rice and Murdoch play their hearts out for their team and barely look twice when the score board reads “1,000 point shot.” Although they are proud of their accomplishments, they can only look forward to what can can happen in the upcoming months.
