Things came around in Hillsbrough on Senior Night.
It started going around back on December 13 in Mebane, where the Eastern Alamance women’s basketball team led Orange 37-34 at Tal Jobe Gymnasium. Orange’s Evelyn George took a last-second pass and attempted a 3-pointer. She appeared to be hit on the arm, but there was no call. Instead of the Lady Panthers’ best free-throw shooter going to the line with three tosses to potentially tie the game, the Eagles defeated the Lady Panthers for the third straight time.
On Friday night, it looked like fortune would favor the Eagles again. With Orange leading 62-61 and trying to run out the clock, Eastern’s Aliya Trollinger stole a pass and rocketed down the floor, getting fouled by Maura McMurtry with :10.7 remaining. Trollinger, who led all scorers with 23 points, missed both free throws. But she got the offensive rebound and found a wide-open Marion Scott on the left block for a lay-in to put the Eagles ahead 63-62 with seven seconds remaining.
That’s when the swing around started.
On her senior night, Orange’s Shannon Murphy took off up the floor after throwing the inbounds pass to McMurtry. Murphy took the ball back along the near sideline, stopped 20 feet from the basket in front of the Orange bench.
Just as Murphy let the shot go, Eastern’s M’Khylah Zapata-Jones hit her across the arm.
It wasn’t called two months ago.
It was on Friday night–with one second remaining.
Several Eastern Alamance players rushed off the bench to the floor thinking they had secured its fourth straight win over Orange. Instead, Murphy was awarded three free throws and the scoreboard went out amidst the confusion.
“I just wanted to knock them down for the team,” Murphy said. “I wasn’t really nervous.”
Murphy practically grabbed the ball from the official and barely took a dribble before she attempted her first free throw. Nothing but net to tie the game.
Her second attempt rimmed out.
Murphy took a little more time on the attempt that would decide the game. It drew a slight bit of rim but dropped through the net.
The last, and winning, point on senior night was scored by an Orange senior.
“Shannon never makes those in practice,” McMurtry joked afterwards.
Orange reserves Natalie Roberson and Rhiley Crabtree rushed onto the floor, but there was one problem–there was still one second left.
Fortunately for Orange, they weren’t called for a technical. Eastern couldn’t get a shot off on the subsequent inbounds and the Lady Panthers defeated their crosstown rival 64-63. It was Orange’s first conference win over the Eagles since February 10, 2023. The Lady Panthers did beat Eastern in the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoopla Tournament in December 2023, a nonconference matchup.
Orange ended the regular season 15-8, 8-4 in the Central Conference, tied for 2nd with the Eagles. The Lady Panthers will be the #3 seed in next week’s Central Conference Tournament and will face Cedar Ridge in the quarterfinals at Panther Gymnasium on Monday night at 6.
Trollinger led the Eagles (12-11, 8-4) with 23 points.
Senior Evelyn George paced the Lady Panthers with 19 points.
The final few minutes of regulation was practically a duel between Murphy and Trollinger, just without the pistols after 50 paces.
Murphy scored on a reverse lay-up with a light kiss off the window to go ahead 52-46 with 5:32 remaining in regulation. Trollinger drained a free throw, then scored off a steal and score to cut the Panther lead to 52-49.
Trollinger put the Eagles within a point at 56-55, concluding a four-point possession after she grabbed an offensive rebound following missed free throw from Makayla Scott, who had scored on a drive down the lane and got fouled by Orange center Marshea Byrd.
On the next possession, Murphy went behind-the-back on the dribble and tossed in a 3-pointer, one that will go on her senior night highlight reel, putting Orange back ahead 59-55.
Trollinger charged right back and scored while getting fouled by Kylee Allen with 2:49 remaining. Zapata-Jones tied the game off a steal of an inbounds pass and scored on a lay-in to tie the game at 59-59. Makayla Scott scored off a midland jumper to put the Eagles ahead 61-59.
Then Murphy delivered another huge shot, taking the ball off a pass from McMurtry and fired in a 3-pointer to put the Lady Panthers ahead, setting up the wild final minute.
Eastern Alamance will face Southern Alamance in the quarterfinals of the Central Conference Tournament on Monday. The semifinals will take place at Western Alamance on Tuesday.