Auburn v. Oxford: Murphy’s Law

<span style="font-weight: 400;">After controlling the first three-quarters of action, Oxford looked like they were going to roll to an easy double-digit Thursday night victory against Auburn. An awe-inspiring 4th quarter performance by one of Central Massachusetts’ most lethal scorers and good team defense pulled Auburn within two possessions of taking the lead. Oxford’s clutch free-throw shooting at the end put the nail in the coffin and secured a 49-43 win. Below are the standouts. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game:</strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-382096" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/0FBE7D01-78CC-416E-A34E-00A3CED49211-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1643501323-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="328520" first="Hanorah" last="Murphy"] - Auburn - 6’0’’ - CG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For the first time this winter, my player of the game went to a prospect on the losing team. That is how impressive Murphy was on Thursday. She finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds; and in the 4th quarter, single-handedly cut a 14-point deficit and almost completed one of the most insane comebacks of the year. Nothing came easy for Murphy as she was double, triple, and even quadruple teamed all night long, causing problems for the Oxford defense throughout the game. Murphy rebounds aggressively, pushes the ball in transition, and utilizes the mid-range game as well as anyone I have watched this year. Murphy’s mid-range pull-up game is deadly, and she did most of her damage, rising over the defender from 15 feet and drilling jump shots repeatedly. Murphy is one of the most underrated players in her class. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Oxford Standouts:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="267133" first="Alexis" last="Steiger"] - 5’11’’ - SG/SF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Steiger led her team with 18 points and showed her scoring confidence at all three levels. She knocked down 2 three-pointers and took advantage of her 5’11’’ frame, punishing smaller Auburn defenders inside. Steiger’s free throw shooting was what stood out to me the most. She not only did a good job drawing fouls but showed poise at the free-throw line in clutch situations to secure the win for Oxford. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="382117" first="Olivia" last="Clarkson"] - 5’8’’ - PG - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Clarkson had a solid scoring night for Oxford, and her big first half helped the team take control early on. Clarkson was second on the team with 17 points and was very effective off the dribble. She got to the rim repeatedly at the beginning of the game in particular, and Clarkson’s playmaking set the tone for Oxford.</span>