PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- On the bloody floor of the Pulse nightclub bathroom, Patience Carter was praying. She had already been shot. Beside her, in a pool of blood, was her cousin Akyra Murray. She was barely breathing.

This was supposed to be the start of an incredible vacation. "We're were having the time of our lives. Akyra was the life of the party, literally and everybody loved her. Everyone just adored her," Carter said.

Murray wouldn't survive.

Back home, her close friends say the lost can not be described. "She kept everybody's heart into the game. Even if we were losing, she would have our spirits up all the time," said Monique Barracks.

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The West Catholic basketball standout graduated last week. Barracks can't comprehend what happened to her friend. "It's hard to even imagine a whole bunch of people in a bathroom, trying to get help. I can't even imagine it."

Murray was headed to Mercyhurst on a basketball scholarship. She had recently netted 1,000 points. Her future was bright. Now, family and friends are devastated to hear how a night of fun changed so drastically.

"It's going to be hard to put on a brave face for someone like her. I'm just sorry. I'm just sorry that she's gone, but hopefully she's watching down on all of us," Barracks said.

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Murray's friends tell Eyewitness News they feel lost without her. They say she was the strong one in a crowd, a young woman who was full of life and full of courage.

Her funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.