Why E.E. Smith girls basketball's Jahriell Murchison takes Golden Bull-ettes to next level
When Jahriell Murchison is in the zone for E.E. Smith girls basketball, the Golden Bull-ettes are state-championship level good.
The sophomore guard proved it Tuesday in a 61-59 win against Terry Sanford, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to clinch the All American Conference regular-season championship.
“She made me look good, I’ll tell ya that,” E.E. Smith coach Dee Hardy said with a smile. “. ... When she gets in her zone, we just let her go on and do what she does.”
Murchison always seems to find that zone when the Golden Bull-ettes (19-1, 13-0) face Terry Sanford (17-4, 11-2).
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She scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half to help Smith overcome a 14-point halftime deficit.
Trailing 59-58 with 2.5 seconds left, senior guard Skylar White made a pass to Murchison, who collected the ball near the top of the key before firing up a shot that hit the backboard and fell through the net as the buzzer sounded.
“I’m just praying that it fell,” Murchison said of the moment. “. … I was in a daze. I was in the zone.”
It was her fourth 3-pointer of the second half and a trey that should put E.E. Smith in position to enter the NCHSAA 3A state playoffs with the top seed in the East. The Golden Bull-ettes entered Tuesday’s game at No. 1 in the 3A East RPI rankings, with Terry Sanford at No. 3.
“What it does for us is it seals that No. 1 seed for the playoffs. We definitely wanted to go ahead and make a statement for that,” Hardy said.
“It’s always nice to win a conference championship, but in the end, we’re looking for bigger things."
Senior guard Keashiana Murphy also scored 21 points for Smith. Freshman guard Ameya Brown scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half for Terry Sanford, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9 seconds left, before Murchison's dagger from deep.
Terry Sanford star Miya Giles-Jones, a Northeastern signee, scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half to help the Bulldogs carry a 32-18 lead into the locker room.
“We don’t give up,” Murchison said. “It don’t matter what kind of situation we’re in, we’re gonna keep pushing.”
Now, with a regular-season championship secured, Murchison hopes it’s a sign of things to come.
“We have bigger things that we’re aiming for, so this is just the first step,” she said.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jahriell Murchison hits buzzer-beater as E.E. Smith girls basketball beats Terry Sanford
