Murphy and Nave named to Class D All-State squad
Two Onaway High School girls? basketball players have earned All-State recognition from the Michigan Associated Press. Senior forward Megan Murphy and sophomore point guard Allie Nave made the elite list of players from Class D.
Only 24 student-athletes are selected in each of the four classes in girls? high school basketball. The 2007-08 co-captains were both All-State honorable mentions. Nave received the accolade for the second year in a row.
A panel of 10 individuals downstate make the selection, said Marty Mix, girls? basketball coach and OHS athletic director. The panel doesn?t interview coaches or look at statistics; the decisions are based on information passed around by word-of-mouth. Of the group, five players from the Ski Valley Conference were selected. ?We had two on there, which is pretty neat,? said Mix.
MURPHY ALMOST averaged double figures in two statistical categories. She averaged 14.1 points a game, while pulling down 9.7 rebounds each time she took the court this past season. She finished the season with 310 points, 213 rebounds, 106 steals, 84 assists, and 23 blocks. She also shot 73 percent from the free throw line.
?Statistically, she was solid every game, but most importantly, she was the player you knew was going to show up,? said Mix. ?She led the team physically, emotionally, and statistically.?
Nave?s scoring average was 12.4 points per game during the 2007-08 campaign. She finished with 272 points, 131 assists, 123 rebounds, and 116 steals. Mix said Nave was usually the first person into practice and the last to leave.
?Allie is definitely coming into her own and was a little more vocal this season,? said Mix. ?I saw a lot more maturity out of her.? Before Nave was named All-State honorable mention last year, the last player to receive the honor was Laura Grainger in 1999.
BOTH MURPHY and Nave attended a basketball camp in the offseason at Duke University. Murphy made the elite squad at the camp, while Nave was named the best defensive player.
?The thing that I like about both girls is that they are established and they are not worried about any publicity they get, they are just out there to play,? said Mix. ?They are both very humble in what they do.? Along with Murphy, the coach loses his other s
?All three brought something special,? said Mix. ?All three were solid.? Coming off one of the toughest, most intense schedules in years, Mix was pleased with the 16-4 record, especially considering the Ski Valley Conference had five teams ranked in Class D at one time this past season.
?I was very close to this group of girls, and obviously when you lose kids out of that, it is going to make the chemistry different, but there is a good crew of girls coming in next year that will buy into the system. We?ve got a lot of talent coming back.
?Right now, I am going to let this one soak in, because this was as much fun as I?ve had in a long time coaching basketball.?