A Tribute to a Friend

Friday night, November 4, 2016 was the season opener of the 2016-17 season for South Grand Prairie and Bishop Lynch at the Friar Fieldhouse. Before the opening tipoff, two of the most successful high school coaches in Texas paid tribute to a friend. Andy Zihlman, the head coach at Bishop Lynch with a resume of 24 TCIL-TAPPS State Titles, and Samantha Morrow, who won four consecutive Class 5A—the highest classification at the time—State Titles at Mansfield High School from 1999-2002, honored Marty Murphy. He was the founder of the Texas Fire select basketball program and helped many players achieve their dream of playing college basketball. He passed away on September 20 after a long battle with cancer. The game was dedicated to him and played in his honor.
 
The first period was low scoring with turnovers and missed free throws from each squad. The second period was much better played with the absence of first game jitters. Bishop Lynch came out in a 1-2-2 zone with traps, giving them the lead and momentum; South Grand Prairie could not get off good shots. The Lady Warriors were able to control the defensive boards and allow Lynch only one shot each time down the court.
 
The second half South Grand Prairie began in a full court zone press trying to increase the tempo of the game. Lynch had no problem breaking the press, and was able to get easy buckets off of their transition. Two three-pointers by sophomore Nyah Green late in the period gave Lynch a 37-24 lead. In the fourth period, Endyia Rogers, a 5'5" sophomore point guard, took over the game. She delivered by beating the South Grand Prairie press and setting up easy two-on-one and three-on-two breaks. Her behind the back pass and dribbling skills electrified the Lady Friar fans; scoring two long range three-pointers were the icing on the cake. The final score was 50-33 Lynch over South Grand Prairie. Kayla Wells, a Texas A&M commit, scored 14 points to lead South Grand Prairie. Nyah Green and Endyia Rogers each had 13 points to lead Lynch.
 

	1	2	3	4	Final
South Grand Prairie	5	9	10	9	33
Bishop Lynch	10	11	16	13	50