Murphy rewrites record books at UMass Boston

Former Canton High standout Olivia Murphy capped off a truly remarkable four-year career with the UMass Boston women’s basketball team last month, setting the school record for career points in her final game as a Beacon.

Olivia Murphy (UMass Boston photo)

Playing in her second straight Little East Conference (LEC) title game, the senior forward tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a 64-56 loss to top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State.

Murphy set the new record with a free-throw in the fourth quarter and ended her career with 1,546 points. She also tied a program mark for games played (104) and finished first in career wins (62), second in blocks (173), third in rebounds (1,136), fourth in field goal percentage (44.8 percent), and eighth in steals (164). She recorded a double-double in 57 collegiate games and is one of only four players in program history to average a double-double for their careers (14.9/10.9).

As a senior, Murphy enjoyed a career year, earning her third consecutive LEC All-Conference First Team selection — also a program record — while leading the entire conference in rebounding with a career-high 12.3 rebounds per game. On the national level, she tied for second in Division III in offensive rebounds per game (6.3) and finished ninth in total rebounds (344).

Murphy also ranked fourth in the LEC in points per game (15.3) and second in blocks per game (1.8). She reached double-digit points 23 times and double-digit rebounds 19 times and led the Beacons to a 16-12 overall record.

Murphy was always at her best in tournaments, as she was named the Most Valuable Player in four of the five regular-season tournaments she played in. That excellence carried over into the postseason, where she helped lead the Beacons to their first four LEC postseason wins in program history and to back-to-back conference championship game appearances. In seven career postseason games, she recorded five double-doubles and averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks per game.

Incredibly, Murphy is not the only UMass Boston star in her family. Her younger sister Julia, also a CHS alum and former three-sport standout, is a junior middle hitter on the women’s volleyball team and earned her second straight American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honorable mention in 2015. The two-time reigning LEC Offensive Player of the Year, Julia led the Beacons to a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance. She led the conference with 108 total blocks while posting a team-best 2.70 kills per set.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Mar 11 2016. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.