After spending two seasons on the coaching staff at Davidson, former Campbell standout Marlena Murphy returns to the Lady Camel women's basketball program as an assistant coach..
"It's great having her back," said Watkins. "Marlena has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and it's great to have her personality back again."
Murphy assists in all facets of the Lady Camel program, including recruiting, instruction, travel, scouting, film exchange and academics among all other capacities.
"I'm very excited to be back at Campbell," said Murphy. "I have a lot of memories here so this is a very special place for me. It's fun to go from one side to the next. After playing here for Coach Watkins, it's going to be great to work with her, this staff and the team."
"It's also rewarding to see how much she has grown and matured," added Watkins. "She had a great experience at Davidson, where she was able to learn a lot about coaching. I have a lot of respect for Coach Annette Watts, her head coach at Davidson who is now going to be at Jacksonville State. With her leaving and coming back, she's going to be adding ideas."
As a student-athlete at Campbell, Murphy captured All-Atlantic Sun honors twice, including a second-team selection for the 2007-08 season after averaging 12.4 points and 9.8 rebounds a game. As a junior, the Fayetteville, N.C. native earned first team all-conference accolades. Murphy also garnered North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) All-State honors twice during her career with the Lady Camels, taking home the award as a junior and senior.
In 2007-08, Murphy led the conference and ranked 21st in the nation with her average of 9.8 rebounds a game. Murphy's 12.4 scoring average also led the team and placed her 12th in the conference.
The Jack Britt High School product led the Lady Camels in rebounding 21 times as a senior, including a career-high mark of 18 against High Point (11/29/07) and USC Upstate (1/12/08). Murphy was the team leader in scoring 17 times, including a career-high of 24 against Elon (11/10/07) and USC Upstate (1/12/08). The six-foot center recorded 14 double-doubles on the season and 35 in her four-year career. Murphy was also seventh in the conference in field goal percentage (.466) and 17th in minutes played (30.1).
"Marlena will be an asset to us in a lot of ways, but particularly with our post players," said Watkins. "She was a great player for us and she will certainly pass that along. We're excited to have her here."
At Davidson, Murphy worked primarily with post players, while assisting with film exchange and film breakdown. The Wildcats posted a 26-33 overall record with a 21-17 mark in Southern Conference play during her two-year stay at Davidson.
Two forwards received all-conference honors during Murphy's tenure at Davidson. In 2008-09, Mercedes Robinson was named First Team All-SoCon after leading the Wildcats in scoring with a career-best averages of 14.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Those numbers placed her third and first, respectively, in each category in the SoCon. The senior's 9.7 rebounding average also ranked in the nations' top-25.
Last season, freshman forward Sophia Aleksandravicius was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team after averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Aleksandravicius registered 11 double-doubles on the year and scored in double figures 16 times.
Murphy easily led the conference on the offensive boards, tallying 127 offensive rebounds on the year, which were 25 more than her next closest competitor.
For her career, Murphy totaled 802 rebounds and 952 points. Her career average of 8.1 rebounds a contest is the ninth best in school history.
"I feel like this is a perfect fit for me," said Murphy. "I had a great situation coming out of college and moving to Davidson, and I'm thankful for that opportunity, but it's great to be back home."
Murphy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Campbell in 2008, and is currently working toward her master's degree in sport psychology through Capella University.
