Zoe Murphy fell in love with basketball because of former Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins.
“One of my idols growing up was Skylar Diggins,” Murphy said. “I remember watching her play for Notre Dame when I was younger and she was such an entertaining player to watch. She’s also not that tall like me, but shows she can still get the job done which was inspiring.
“I first started playing basketball in preschool when I was around 5 or 6 years old.”
Murphy grew up in Morgantown. She attended University High and graduated in 2019.
She will begin her sophomore year at Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) in the fall after attending West Virginia for one year before deciding to transfer.
“I didn’t feel it was a fit for me and I wanted to take some time off for myself to fully recover from my knee injury to be able to come back 100%,” she said.
Murphy had an outstanding first season. She was named Freshman of the Year by the Sunshine State Conference. She was also named to the All-Newcomer Team.
“It was honestly a surprise to me I really wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said. “I’m extremely grateful for the honors and for everyone that has helped me get to this point. It also motivates me to keep pushing to better myself.”
She played in all nine games, starting six. She scored a total of 97 points, 37 rebounds, 14 assists, and 10 steals.
“I’m honestly just happy we were even able to get to play some games this season,” Murphy said. “It was very up and down with COVID and some teams didn’t get the opportunity to play like we did so for that I’m grateful.
“Most of my teammates are all international so it was really cool getting to experience playing with people from all around the world and hearing about their different cultures.”
COVID-19 did not make things easy.
“We had to wear masks during practice which was not fun at all and during season we got tested 3 times a week to make sure everyone was negative,” she said. “Playing without fans was a little different but to be honest I don’t really notice when people are there anyways because I’m so focused on the game I think I just block everything else out.”
She is looking forward to next season.
“I’m very excited for my sophomore season,” she said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to play all of our games and having a chance to compete in tournament play when that comes around.”
As a Hawk, Murphy joined the 1,000-point club. This was a considerable accomplishment considering she played with a torn ACL her senior year.
“It was awesome because it had been a goal of mine to be a 1,000 point scorer,” she said. “To not only reach that goal but having done it on a bad knee made it feel 10-times better. Being apart of the 1,000 point club at UHS is really cool, there are so many great players that I can categorize myself with.
“It was difficult and at times I didn’t think I was going to make it through. If it wasn’t for my physical therapist and my ugly knee brace there would have been no way I could have done it. I don’t regret it at all, though.”
Playing despite her injury allowed Murphy to experience things she will never forget.
“My favorite memory would just have to be watching and being apart of a team that my freshman year had an awful losing record to competing for a state championship my senior year,” she said. “We had grew and developed so much it was fun to be apart of.”
Playing basketball at Florida Tech certainly is different from UHS, though.
“The pace of the game at the collegiate level is definitely different than from high school,” Murphy said. “I’ve noticed a lot more athleticism in college compared to high school so I think that makes a big difference.”
Size is one of the factors that drew Murphy to Florida Tech.
“It’s a pretty small school and I really like that because it makes it more personable,” she said. “I also really like the town it’s in and being close to the beach is a nice addition.”
Living in Florida isn’t bad either.
“I go to the beach as much as possible,” Murphy said. “I really enjoy the sun and the warm weather, but in August and September it’s so hot and humid it’s almost unbearable to go outside unless you’re at the beach.”
Melbourne, Fla., is similar to Morgantown, according to Murphy.
“It’s around the same size just a little bigger,” she said. “It’s way more flat and the roads are a lot nicer.”
While attending Flordia Tech, Murphy is majoring in sports management.
“After graduation I’m hoping to find a job that is involved with sports, particularly basketball.”
In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family as well as her dog.
