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Marlena Murphy averaged 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds this season for Campbell,en route to being the first Camel to be named first-team, all-conference in five years

Staff writer
By Michael N. Graff

Marlena Murphy overanalyzes every move she makes, particularly those she makes on the basketball floor.

So when news came this week that she was the first Campbell University women's basketball player to be named first-team all-conference in five years, Murphy started questioning the pick.

She wasn't very good in her most recent game against Gardner-Webb, she thought. Surely, that should have ended her chances of winning a postseason honor.

"I'm really, really, really hard on myself," the Jack Britt High School graduate said.

On a team full of thinkers and wonderers, Murphy, a psychology major, may be the most self-critical.

One of three Fayetteville natives on the roster, Murphy leads the Camels into the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament today, where they hope to finally clear the mental hurdles that have hindered them this season.

The fifth-seeded Camels (8-20) have another chance at No. 4 Gardner-Webb (13-16), which won Saturday's meeting 68-53.

Still, Campbell has won three of its last five, leading the players to believe something good could happen this weekend.

"It's always a mental thing for us," said Murphy, a 6-foot center. "We always think, 'Don't do this. Don't mess up.' And the more you say, 'Don't,' the more you end up hesitating. I wish it would disappear."

Don't believe her? Here's how Campbell senior Octavia Blackwell described Campbell's seven-game losing streak earlier this year.

"You always feel like you always have to meet everybody else's expectations. And you have to meet yours, too," Blackwell said. "Sometimes you feel like a soda bottle, and the top's about ready to pop off."

But Campbell coach Wanda Watkins believes if anybody thrives on her own faultfinding, it's Murphy.

Averaging 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds, Murphy has been Campbell's most consistent player.

"My worry with her is sometimes she might put a little too much pressure on herself," Watkins said. "But she's a psychology major, and those people are analytical. But for her, I don't think it's a bad thing."

Murphy is the youngest in a line of Fayetteville natives on Campbell's roster. Blackwell, from Pine Forest, and Adrienne Rieley, from South View, are seniors.

"I still consider myself a role player," Murphy said. "I consider everybody a role player. You always try to do something for the team, whether it's something you want to do or not."

Watkins doesn't have any more Cumberland County products lined up for next year.

But the one she'll have is a pretty good representative.

Prior to Murphy, April Cromartie was the Camels' most recent first-team all-conference pick, earning the honor in 2002.

"Hopefully, it reassures her," Watkins said of the award. "As a coach, I've been confident in her all year. She doesn't have a clue how good she is."

Staff writer Michael N. Graff can be reached at graffm@fayobserver.com or 486-3591.

Fayetteville Observer