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January 23, 2017

Murphy Makes Basketball History at Carnegie Mellon

By Andrea James

Lisa Murphy

Senior basketball star Lisa Murphy continued her assault on the Carnegie Mellon University record book by notching her 2,000th career point and 1,000th career rebound in a 93-73 victory over Emory University last Sunday. She’s the only CMU player, the only player in the University Athletic Association and the 18th player in NCAA Division III to reach those milestones.

Murphy, a 6’1” forward, scored a career-high and conference-record 44 points to go with 15 rebounds to lead the Tartans to their 15th victory of the season against only one defeat. And her two blocked shots against Emory gave her 200 in her career, making her only the eighth player in Division III to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks.

“It’s a huge honor and has been such a journey these past four years,” Murphy said about reaching the milestones. “Honestly, I’m just glad we got the win. It’s really cool to see the program as it’s come so far the past four years and the fact that I’ve had points and rebounds come along with that is great, but the fact we’re winning games is what’s most important to me.”

An Academic All-American last year and early inductee to Phi Beta Kappa this fall, Murphy now has 2,039 points and 1,011 rebounds in her career with nine regular season games left on the schedule. The next record to top is the most points scored by a UAA player. Marsha Harris (1994-1998) of NYU holds that honor with 2,140 points in 114 career games.

Murphy, a career 71 percent shooter, is leading the nation by shooting 82.2 percent from the field this season. As a junior, she set the Division III record by shooting 75.2 percent. She also set the record for consecutive shots made in a game by going 16 for 16 against La Roche College.

"Lisa is a gifted scholar-athlete who has challenged herself to grow as a player and person each and every season at Carnegie Mellon University," Head Coach Jacquie Hullah said. "Her work ethic, competitiveness and leadership skills have taken our program to new heights."

The Tartans are hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament this year. Last season they won two games and finished among the top 16 teams in the country.

The season continues for Murphy and the ninth-ranked Tartans on Friday, Jan. 27, when they take on 11th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (14-2, 3-2 UAA) at 6 p.m. in Skibo Gymnasium.