BUIES
CREEK, N.C.- Senior Marlena
Murphy banked in a layup with only 11 second left in the
game to give Campbell women's basketball team (5-5) a thrilling
58-57 victory over visiting Iona (4-6) on Saturday evening at
Carter Gym. The win snapped Campbell's season long three-game
losing skid.
Murphy
would finish her evening with 15 points and 14 rebounds, but none
proved to be more vital than her last-minute bucket. The senior has
now tallied 21 double-doubles in her career including five in her
last six games. Murphy carried the team in crunch time and scored
the basket that tied the game at 53 and tallied an assist on junior
Laura Arthur's three-point field goal
that gave the Camels a brief 56-55 lead. Murphy totaled a
season-high four assists in the game.
Arthur
had steady performance for the Camels with 11 points and five
assists. Gara Bell tied her season-high
with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field. She also ripped
down seven rebounds, had three assists and a pair of steals.
Sophomore Lindsay Smithberger came off
the bench and dished out a team-high six assists. Junior Jessica Mack had another solid effort for
Campbell with nine points and two steals.
The game
was only of momentum swings with the Camels not scoring their first
points of the afternoon until a made Murphy free throw at the 13:42
mark, at which point the Gaels had already buildup a 10-point
advantage. The CU offense then stormed back and went on a 14-0 run
capped off by the second of two made free throws from Smithberger.
Iona then went on its own 7-1 run finished off by a Lauren DeFalco
made jumper. It was then the Camels turn again and they went on a
7-0 rally to take a six-point lead. The Gaels were able to go a run
of their own just before the break to close the gap to three,
25-22. Arthur led CU with six points at the break with senior
Lauren Graham contributing four valuable
points off the bench. DeFalco tallied five points to lead the Gaels
at the intermission.
After
the half, Iona's Tiara Headen would put
tally 15 of her 20 points to spearhead the Gaels attack. The game's
second stanza saw eight tied scores and six lead changes until
Murphy's layup gave Campbell the lead for good. The Gaels were able
to set up a shot attempt by senior Thazina Cook in the closing
seconds, but Mack was able to secure the rebounding to give CU the
victory.
For Iona
College, Anna McLean also had a double-double with 10 points and 10
rebounds before fouling out with just over three minutes to go in
the game (3:16). DeFalco had a game-high seven helpers for the
Gaels.
Campbell finished with 38-35 advantage on
the boards against the taller Gaels. CU also hit 15-of-20 free
throws and scored 30 of their 58 points in the paint. The Gaels
shot 22-of-56 from the floor (39.3) to CU's 20-of-53
(37.7)
The Lady
Camels will play one more game before a short holiday break against
North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, Dec. 19 in Greensboro at 7
p.m.
Notes:Murphy has led the team in rebounding five times
this season with all but one of the efforts being in double-digits
... Mack has scored nine points in each of her last three games ...
Campbell has outrebounded its opponents in six of the ten games
this season ... CU is 3-0 on Saturday's this season ... the team is
also 4-0 when it takes a lead into the intermission.