When the game is on the line, senior guard Jaeda Murphy would be the odds-on favorite to make a key play for Homewood-Flossmoor.
Be that as it may, Murphy has the self-awareness to understand what she does in those situations is a culmination of a lot of people.
That includes her brother and male cousins, for example, along with former Vikings star Alyssa Latham and her current coach, Tony Smith. And then there’s her mom.
“She was very fierce and fearless,” Krishelle Murphy said of her daughter, looking back on those early days. “She started playing with boys and learned how to maneuver that way.
“She’s never been scared because of her size. Her dad taught her basketball because he played basketball in school. She wanted to learn and master the skills and fundamentals.”
All of that skill by Murphy was on display Thursday night for the Vikings in a 50-45 win over host Lincoln-Way Central in a SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover in New Lenox.
Murphy led H-F (15-6) with 14 points, but that’s only one aspect. She scored the Vikings’ final eight points, including a baseline layup and four free throws in the closing 43.6 seconds.
After the game, the 5-foot-6 Murphy reflected on the beginnings of her basketball career, which came in a church league playing against and with boys.
“I had to be tough and play with them and I was keeping up, so I kept going,” she said. “Most of the time when I started I would sit, but I got to play in practice more and I was getting better over time and then I started AAU.”
Lincoln-Way Central (13-9) also proved up to the task Thursday, taking a 45-44 lead with 1:10 remaining, but that’s when Murphy took over.
Despite losing senior forward Lina Panos early in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury, the Knights got a game-high 21 points from senior guard Gracen Gehrke and another eight from senior guard Gianna Amadio.
That Murphy turned the tide is no surprise. She was a varsity player for H-F by her sophomore year. One year ahead of her was Latham, who’s a standout for Syracuse.
Latham, according to Murphy, was the consummate leader.
“Alyssa was very good on and off the court,” Murphy said. “It didn’t matter what you needed from her, if you called her, she was always answering.
“On the court, she was always talking and telling us where to go. She would tell us if we were doing something wrong. She would say, ‘Hey, you need to do this.'”
Junior guard Jemiyah McDonald, who added 10 points Thursday, said she sees a lot of Latham in how Murphy conducts herself as a leader.
“Jaeda, she encourages me in practice,” McDonald said. “She gets me going and helps me be my better self in practice.”
Smith said Latham passed the figurative leadership torch to Murphy, who is doing the things Latham did in that role and even more.
In turn, Murphy will pass that responsibility on to McDonald or sophomore guards Jenesis Moore or Aunyai Deere, each of whom played key roles in beating Lincoln-Way Central.
As for Murphy, her plan after high school is to play in college. She knows she wants to study premed, but just as important, she knows where she wants to go.
“My ideal school would be to go to the West Coast,” she said. “I like the nice weather and I have some family who live in California, so I want to go there.
“It’s always been my dream since I was a freshman.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
