She picks up the kids and takes them to games and practices, and “Team Mom” is the title she’s earned.
Meghan Murphy is the only Dos Pueblos girls basketball player with a driver’s license, and she certainly drove the Charger bus to victory on Tuesday, scoring 20 points with 13 rebounds as DP routed Channel Islands 62-32 to take seventh place in the Tournament of Champions Green Division.
“She definitely leads the team, and we can always feed her the ball,” said freshman Chiara DiMarco, who finished with six points.
Freshman Jessica Escalante nailed five treys — including one from a few steps inside halfcourt at the halftime buzzer — and finished with a total of 17 despite not seeing the floor in the final period.
The Chargers, who reached the midway point of the season at 7-6, won the first quarter 22-2 and kept the Raiders at bay the rest of the way. But that didn’t mean coach Maynard Pilapil was about to sit back and relax, as there’s always work to be done.
“We got easy scoring opportunities in the first half, but I told them they need to keep up the pressure on both ends,” he said.
The pressure let up a bit in the third quarter, in which the Chargers were outscored 9-8 after going cold from the floor, but they kept up the intensity thanks to a lesson they learned just a few days ago. They were up by 14 against Chaminade after one quarter, but ended up losing 57-56.
Four little words that Pilapil wants hammered into the heads of his youngsters: no lead is safe.
“They learned a lot from that Chaminade game… I’m proud of the team right now, but there’s still work to be done,” he said.
(Photos by Blake Dorfman/PresidioPics. To order prints, e-mail [email protected])
DOS PUEBLOS 62, CHANNEL ISLANDS 32
CHANNEL ISLANDS — Agor 5, Robbs 11, Forestelle 3, King 7, Smith 2, Wini 4. Totals 12 6-10 32.
DOS PUEBLOS — Gill 7, DiMarco 6, Hoover-Purter 4, Murphy 20, Crane 5, Mata 3, Escalante 17. Totals 24 7-17 62.
Channel Islands….2 10 9 11 — 32
Dos Pueblos……..22 19 8 13 — 62
3-point goals — CI 2 (King, Agor), DP 7 (Escalante 5, Gill 2).
Total fouls — CI 11, DP 9.
Team records — DP 7-6.
