The Orange women’s basketball team won its Big 7 Conference opener on Tuesday night. Senior Maura McMurtry scored 17 points while sophomore forward Kassidy Tolliver added 16 as the Lady Panthers defeated crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 65-36 inside Panther Gymnasium. Orange started the game by scoring the opening 19 points, starting with two 3-pointers from McMurtry while fellow senior Natalie Roberson added another. Orange shot 10-of-13 from the field in the first quarter. Tolliver, playing against her former team, finished with six rebounds as the Lady Panthers improved to 3-2. Orange scored a season-high in points and had 17 assists on 24 field goals. Orange has seniors McMurtry, Roberson, and center Alexis Stephens in its starting lineup as they try to improve on last year’s 18-10 season, which included a win over Swansboro in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs. It was Orange’s first state playoff win since the 2016-2017 season. McMurtry has opened this season by scoring eleven points against Person on December 3. Orange will play at undefeated Cummings in Burlington on Monday night, it’s final game before Christmas. They will start play in the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament against Green Level next Saturday in Haw River. Last year, Orange finished seventh in the holiday tournament, beating Northeast Guilford in the final game.
