Basketball (and family) history makes TV and newspaper news

During a 70-66 overtime win against the University of Southern Maine, Elsa Daulerio ’26 became the 22nd �ֲ���ý women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points, and the  and all reported on the event. Her teammates swarmed the court after the game to celebrate Daulerio, who is the 2025–26 team captain.

The achievement has made Daulerio and her mother, �ֲ���ý Associate Director of Athletics Adrienne Shibles ’91, the second-documented mother-daughter duo in the country to both earn 1,000 career points at the same institution. 

“It means so much,” Daulerio told the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. “I love her so much. She’s been my idol since I was a little girl. I always looked up to her, and she’s been my No. 1 supporter, along with my family. It’s just so special and I’m honored to be up there with her. She’s the hardest worker I know.”

Like her daughter, Shibles was team captain at �ֲ���ý — twice. She ended her college career with 1,005 career points and went on to coach basketball at Swarthmore, Bowdoin, and Dartmouth before returning to �ֲ���ý.

A �ֲ���ý alum talks to national press after her reality show jackpot

In November, Perla Figuereo ’21 was featured in an after winning Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2, a competitive reality television show based on the fictional thriller Squid Game. Figuereo entered the game with her twin brother Jeffrey Figuereo and her “gameplay came down to being her ‘most authentic self’ and tapping into her emotions,” Marie Claire reported.

The prize for winning the show was $4.56 million, which Figuereo plans to split with her brother. As , Figuereo “was made to play against her brother Geoffrey [sic], putting them both in a difficult position. He decided not to take part, instead encouraging his sister to go on and win the game for the both of them. And she did just that.”

In an, Figuereo discussed her win and reminisced on her time in Lewiston, which she calls her “second home.”

“My strategy was just to be myself,” Figuereo told the Sun Journal. “I’m a very social person. Genuinely one of my passions in life is people, so my strategy was just to get to know people like I do in my everyday life.”

The show, , and , among other outlets, also covered the news.

Francesco Duina visits Maine Calling to talk about inequality

Francesco Duina, professor of sociology, was featured on Maine Public’s Maine Calling program on December 2.

Duina’s new book The Social Acceptance of Inequality: On the Logics of a More Unequal World analyzes the ways in which people think about economic inequality—and the reasoning that leads many to accept the disparities around us. Co-edited with Luca Storti, an associate professor of economic sociology at the University of Turin, Italy, Duina’s collection includes voices from across the globe contributing their perspectives on why we justify and accept economic inequality.

Maine Calling host Jennifer Rooks asked Duina why he chose to look at the logics, or justifications, people have for the great inequality in the world now. 

“The logics or the justifications, are drivers or these inequalities,” Duina responded. “So if we want to understand where they come from or why they are sustained, we want to understand why some people are okay with them. A surprisingly large number of — and diverse — number of people support, to varying degrees, inequalities. We are talking specifically about economic inequalities here. Inequalities of wealth or income.”

Rooks asked Duina about his process, including how he challenges his �ֲ���ý students to consider the topic. “I suspect that people, sometimes, if they are asked, outright, ‘Do you support income inequaity’ might have a different answer then the answer you get when you start to dig down,” Rooks said. 

Duina agreed. “Most people, I think, would probably say ‘No,’” he said. “Though some people will say, ‘I’m perfectly comfortable,’ for whatever reasons. But it’s also true that, as I investigate with students, and I kind of challenge them, it’s also true that most people don’t want perfect equality either. So then the question is, at what point do people become uncomfortable, and at what point do people continue to accept economic inequalities?”

To listen to the full conversation, which included two guest panelists,
Marc Dixon, professor of sociology from Dartmouth College and Megan Tobias Neely, assistant professor of sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, visit �ֲ���ý News interviewed Duina about the topic in November.

�ֲ���ý football success featured in the Portland Press Herald

Head Football Coach Matt Coyne was featured in which ran in the Maine Trust for Local News publications, including the Portland Press Herald, in late October. Coyne noted that �ֲ���ý football is at a turning point this year. “We’ve played, you know, much better complementary football across the board, offensively and defensively,” Coyne said. “I think the biggest thing is in critical moments in some of those games against the top-half teams, we made the plays against Amherst and Tufts; then in some other games, we didn’t.” Coyne pointed to the team’s depth in both offense and defense calling out junior linebacker Ryan Rozich of Cromwell, Conn. leading the NESCAC with 89 tackles, and sophomore Carmel Crunk of Chatsworth, Calif. with 63 tackles.

In the Sun Journal, Darby Ray visualizes a community gathering spot

Lewiston community members are considering the future of The Red Shop at Simard-Payne Memorial Park. Built in 1938, the building was once a machine shop for the mill. Discussions about the possible uses for the building are underway. Darby Ray, who serves as director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships and is the Donald W. and Ann M. Harward Professor of Civic Engagement, was interviewed in a , where she shared her ideas for the future of the building. Ray imagines people coming together at The Red Shop–for family reunions and other celebrations, saying “I think we need more spaces where folks can come together on a chilly winter day like today and maybe share ideas about something, have a forum or a conversation or a square dance. We need places to gather that are easily accessible and low barrier in terms of expense.”

Kamal Kariem in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

Kamal Kariem, assistant professor of anthropology who joined the faculty at �ֲ���ý this year, was . Kariem, a graduate of Connecticut College, earned his masters and PhD at Princeton University in anthropology. Kariem is noted as a scholar of global Indigeneities and “comparative imperial formations as these intersect with nature protection.” Kariem is currently teaching “Cultural Anthropology” and “Indigeneity Today.” He shared that he looks forward to working with students to consider their own engagement with Indigenous scholars, considering “convergences and divergences” that emerged in his own work studying Indigenous peoples in the U.S. and Russia.

Muncie’s Star Press features alum’s appointment at Ball State

Bette Smith ’87 was of Muncie, Ind. for her new appointment at Ball State University. Smith was named director of Ball State University’s Center for Innovation and Collaboration. Originally from New York, Smith was a Russian major at �ֲ���ý before earning a masters in sociology at University of Colorado, Denver. Smith has spent more than two decades working in higher education, and will use her experience to focus on organizational change and partnership development. In her new role, Smith will help shape the center’s initial organizational structure and expand Ball State University’s partnerships with the community and local industry. Smith has served as principal of Destra Consulting Group since 2013, supporting clients on transformation initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and leadership alignment.

The �ֲ���ý and Bowdoin head coaches are on the same page when it comes to Graef’s legacy.

“Adrienne and I have had a lot of conversations about her love for �ֲ���ý and what an amazing community it is, and I think Marsha instilled a lot of that,” says �ֲ���ý head coach Alison Montgomery, a 2005 Bowdoin graduate.

“The most important ways that Marsha influenced me had very little to do with X’s and O’s and more to do with empowering young women,” said Bowdoin head coach Adrienne Shibles ’91, a 1,000-point scorer who played for Graef. “I keep Marsha in my heart as I step on that court each and every day.”

A newly endowed scholarship fund at �ֲ���ý honors retired �ֲ���ý coach Jim Murphy ’69, one of the winningest coaches and athletes in �ֲ���ý history, in terms of both victories and spirit.

A successful fundraising effort led by three �ֲ���ý alumni has created an endowed scholarship fund honoring James P. Murphy ’69, the celebrated coach of women’s basketball and soccer who retired in 2015, announced Sarah R. Pearson ’75, vice president for college advancement.

Trustees emeriti Steve Brown ’69 and Bruce Stangle ’70, P’96 and fellow alumnus Tom Lopez ’69 organized the outreach effort to former teammates, players, and classmates of Murphy’s that, to date, has raised more than $130,000.

“From start to finish, these �ֲ���ý leaders made it happen,” Pearson said. “They created the game plan and executed it to perfection.” The new scholarship will provide annual need-based financial aid to a �ֲ���ý student, with preference to a Maine student. The first Murphy Scholar will be named in 2016–17.

The fund honors one of the winningest coaches and athletes in �ֲ���ý history, in terms of both victories and spirit.

Jim Murphy congratulates his team after a win vs. Bowdoin in 2005. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

In 21 seasons as basketball coach, Murphy’s teams won 343 games and lost 187, earning six NCAA tourney appearances. His soccer teams went 146–93–13 over 16 seasons, winning the 2005 NESCAC title and earning NCAA bids in 1996, 1997, and 2005.

Murphy’s contributions to �ֲ���ý athletics and athletes go beyond the numbers, says Stangle.

“Both the fund and the team effort behind its creation honor Jim’s selfless contributions to �ֲ���ý athletics, pursuit of team goals, and intensity of effort,” Stangle says. “It will be a perpetual memorial to Jim at a place he loves.”

Murphy, adds Stangle, “embodies the quintessential �ֲ���ý characteristics of personal integrity and strength. He was the best student-athlete of his generation at �ֲ���ý. He knew how to take apart another team and also how to get the best out of his teammates. He was an immensely gifted athlete who made everyone around him better. He has a positive approach to everything he does in life, and people absolutely adore him.”

“The admiration and respect his players have for him still speak volumes.”

Brown, a football teammate of Murphy’s in the 1960s, says playing with him was “like having another coach on the field,” adding that “Jim was not only an outstanding performer, but also a great leader: selfless, humble, and focused. Honors and tributes have never interested him.”

As a coach of young women at �ֲ���ý in soccer and basketball, “no one at �ֲ���ý comes close to his record of success,” Brown notes. “The admiration and respect his players have for him still speak volumes.”

Katie Franklin ’07 says that Murphy (left, seated) “pushed me to become physically stronger and mentally tougher” while also instilling the “importance of patience, integrity, and modesty.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Lopez, who was also a football teammate of Murphy’s, says that donors responded to the chance to pay tribute to a beloved �ֲ���ý contemporary. “Scores of former classmates and teammates from the late ’60s and early ’70s have contributed because of their respect for Jim and their love of �ֲ���ý,” says Lopez.

Katie Franklin ’07, captain of the 2006–07 women’s basketball team, returned to campus in November and joined with former players, parents, and friends to pay tribute to Murphy.

Franklin, a two-time First Team All-NESCAC honoree and an Academic All-America in softball, says she’s proud to support the Murphy Scholarship Fund because he provided her with “invaluable lessons about giving and receiving critical feedback, what it means to be humble in both wins and losses, and most importantly what it means to give it your all for the greater good of the team.”

“He will always be a role model in my life.”

Franklin, an associate with Analysis Group, an economic consulting firm chaired and co-founded by Stangle, adds that “Coach Murphy instilled in me a work ethic and commitment to the team that I have carried from Alumni Gymnasium into my professional career.”

Her coach also “pushed me to become physically stronger and mentally tougher, while simultaneously teaching me the importance of patience, integrity, and modesty,” she adds. “He will always be a role model in my life.”

Franklin, an associate with Analysis Group, says Murphy instilled a “work ethic and commitment to the team that I have carried from Alumni Gymnasium into my professional career.” (Photograph courtesy of Analysis Group)

Murphy, who returned to his alma mater in 1994 to lead the women’s varsity soccer and basketball programs, attended �ֲ���ý at a time when he and his family “didn’t have two nickels,” he says.

�ֲ���ý financial aid made it possible, says Murphy, who is moved by the honor of having a scholarship established in his name.

“To know that a Maine student who might not otherwise be able to attend �ֲ���ý will now have the opportunity. It’s very meaningful,” he says.

Just as important, says Murphy, are the relationships behind the scholarship.

“It’s amazing. The friendships that started at �ֲ���ý and have been sustained by �ֲ���ý all these years — people who know they can always rely on me and would do the same for me — it’s pretty special.”

For More Information

Contact Eric Foushee, senior director of leadership giving and director of athletic fundraising, at 207-755- 5985 or efoushee@bates.edu. Donors making online gifts to the fund should express their designation by writing “James P. Murphy ’69 Scholarship Fund” in the “Additional Comments” field on the giving page.

After 21 seasons, 343 victories and six NCAA Tournament appearances, Jim Murphy is retiring as head coach of the �ֲ���ý College women’s basketball team, effective at the end of the 2014–15 academic year.

The �ֲ���ý Department of Athletics will immediately begin a national search for the team’s new head coach.

Jim Murphy congratulates his team after a win vs. Bowdoin on Feb. 1, 2005. The victory was the 200th in Murphy’s career, en route to 343 career victories. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Murphy, who also coached women’s soccer at �ֲ���ý between 1994 and 2011, “has been one of the most successful coaches that we have ever had at �ֲ���ý College,” said Director of Athletics Kevin McHugh.

“Throughout his tenure he has led his programs with the utmost integrity, an amazing work ethic and a passion for excellence. Beyond the multitude of achievements, Jim’s outstanding leadership is also reflected in the scores of young women who played for him and have gone on to distinguish themselves after their �ֲ���ý careers.

“Jim always brought a sense of humor and has been a quiet, steadfast influence, instrumental in the development of our younger staff. He will be sorely missed but remembered fondly.”

Murphy has led the women’s basketball program through 21 of its 47 years in existence, and is the program’s longest-tenured coach by far. Murphy entered the 2014–15 season ranked 49th among active Division III coaches in career wins (333), and finishes his career with a 343–187 record — a winning percentage of .647.

Murphy talks with his team in the locker room during a 2012 game in Alumni Gymnaisum. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Meg Coffin '08, a two-time All-American for Murphy, in both soccer and basketball, typified the mental and physical toughness displayed by Murphy's players. (Phylllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

"The things in life that are earned...are much more valuable than something that's given to you," Murphy once said.

Murphy exults after an NCAA Tournament win vs. Emmanuel College on March 5, 2005. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

A packed Alumni Gym watches the Bobcats defeat Emmanuel College in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

A 1969 graduate of �ֲ���ý, Murphy taught English for 24 years at Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield, Massachusetts, where he coached the girls’ soccer team to a 269–40–16 record and the girls’ basketball team to a 132–31 mark. Murphy returned to his alma mater in 1994 to lead the women’s varsity soccer and basketball programs.

At �ֲ���ý, he spearheaded an almost immediate turnaround in the basketball team’s fortunes. Murphy led the Bobcats to a 17–7 mark in his second season, 1995–96, kicking off a run of 15 consecutive winning seasons. �ֲ���ý competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in 1996–97, finishing 20–5, then returned to the NCAAs for three more years in a row, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1997–98.

�ֲ���ý reached new heights in 2004–05, earning the No. 1 national ranking for four weeks and finishing 25–3 with a second NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. �ֲ���ý returned to the tournament for a sixth time in 2006, finishing 19–9. Sixteen of Murphy’s 21 teams finished with a winning record, and six former players were named All-America.

Murphy led the women’s soccer team for 16 seasons beginning in 1994, amassing a 146–93–13 record, including the 2005 NESCAC Women’s Soccer Championship and NCAA Division III Championship tournament appearances in 1996, 1997 and 2005. Murphy also coached the team to two ECAC Championship finals, winning the title in 1998.

As an undergraduate, Murphy was one of the finest players in the history of �ֲ���ý football, and perhaps the program’s greatest quarterback. He still owns the team’s records for touchdown passes in a career (50) and season (17), and is one of just three players to have his number (10) retired, in 1968. He also played two years of varsity basketball at �ֲ���ý.

Murphy’s reputation even in his student days was built on his hard work and pursuit of team goals. “He was kind of humble about it all,” the late Bob Hatch, former �ֲ���ý football coach, told �ֲ���ý Magazine in 1997. “He never considered himself a big star, even though he clearly was.”

A native of Portland, Maine, Murphy brought his simple, hard-boiled ethos into his coaching philosophy, and his players were known for their mental toughness. In the �ֲ���ý Magazine story, he said, “Everything has to be earned. If you’re a member of varsity or a starter, you should be proud, but come fall or spring, it’s something you have to earn.

“The things in life that are earned are to be cherished and treasured and are much more valuable than something that’s given to you. Competing for your school is the greatest opportunity someone can have, and you have to earn the right to be on the team, or to get playing time, or to start.”

For the first time in �ֲ���ý history, the men’s and women’s basketball teams both finished in the top four of NESCAC, giving the Bobcats homecourt advantage in two first-round playoff games this Saturday.

Ranked No. 3 in NESCAC, the men’s team will host No. 6 Williams at 2 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium. The women, ranked No. 2 in the conference, will play No. 7 Tufts University at 4 p.m. Admission to both games is free and open to the public.The men’s team finished the regular season 17-7 and 6-3 in NESCAC. Against Trinity on Feb. 12, center Elliott Linsley ’05 (Murrieta, Calif.) secured �ֲ���ý’ third-place finish, draining an 18-footer from the right wing as time expired. The Bobcats won 69-67.

Rob Stockwell ’07 (Temple, N.H.) led the Bobcats this season, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds per game. Point guard Zak Ray ’07 (Bangor, Maine) averaged 12 points with five assists, while senior Brian Gerrity (Augusta, Maine) averaged 13 points per game. On Dec. 11, Gerrity became the 26th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.

Finishing the regular season 22-1 and 8-1 in NESCAC, the women’s team ranks No. 1 in the D3hoops.com national poll and No. 2 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

The Bobcats only loss came against then No. 1 Bowdoin on Jan. 14. The Bobcats won their next 10 games, including a 74-62 win over Bowdoin on Feb. 1, but the Jan. 14 matchup was a conference game, giving the Polar Bears top seed in NESCAC.

�ֲ���ý and Bowdoin finished a combined 4-0 against Colby this season, meaning the Bobcats’ win in February deferred the CBB title — and ultimate bragging rights — to the NESCAC tournament. �ֲ���ý and Bowdoin could face each other in the NESCAC championship game next weekend for the third time in as many years.

Forward Olivia Zurek (Arlington, Mass.) averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game her senior year. She recorded 14 double-doubles in 23 games and was named NESCAC Player of the Week three times. She scored her 1,000th career point on Nov. 23 and finished the regular season as �ֲ���ý’ all-time leading rebounder (838). With 1,348 career points, Zurek ranks third in scoring.

Meg Coffin ’07 (Westford, Mass.) provided a presence on the blocks this season, averaging 12 points and seven rebounds per game; she finished the year with three double-doubles.

The men’s and women’s teams faired well against their playoff opponents during the regular season. The men beat Williams on the road, 80-70, while the women beat Tufts, 76-66, also away from Alumni Gymnasium.

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Athletic teams at �ֲ���ý are on a brief hiatus for exams this week. Contests will resume on Jan. 3 with the women’s basketball team heading to Williamstown, Mass., for the Williams Tournament. But it’s been a tremendous first month of the winter sports season for the Bobcats, with several teams earning national recognition.

The women’s basketball team remains perfect through eight games this season, moving up to 16th in the D3hoops.com national poll on Tuesday. Olivia Zurek ’05 (Arlington, Mass.) scored her 1,000th career point in the team’s 61-37 win over the University of Southern Maine, ranked second nationally at the time.

The men’s basketball team has also gotten off to a hot start, posting a 9-1 record at the break. The Bobcats are the top-ranked team in Maine, and Brian Gerrity ’05 (Augusta, Maine) scored his 1000th career point in a win over Husson on Saturday.

Kelly Godsey ’06 (Parker, Colo.) opened the indoor track season with an impressive performance in the 20-lb. weight throw, breaking her own school record by three feet and one inch with an automatic national qualifying distance of 63-feet, 0.25-inches. Godsey posted a provisional qualifier in the shot put with a throw of 44-7.5. Scott Cooper ’05 (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Dustin Gauthier ’05 (Amherst, N.H) also hit provisional qualifiers in the 35-lb. weight throw to lead the men’s track and field team.

Both squash teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally after a solid start to the season. The women are ranked ninth and have a 5-1 record, sweeping four teams at the Wesleyan round robin by 9-0 scores. Gary Kan ’07 (Hong Kong) is ranked 44th as an individual to lead the men’s team, which is ranked 10th at 3-1.

Both swim teams have started the season 1-1, with two members of the women’s team hitting NCAA qualifiers. Kara Seaton ’05 (Wayne, Pa.) qualified for the 1-meter diving event with a score of 265.80, while Vanessa Williamson ’05 (Auburn, Maine) qualified provisionally for the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:08.26.

While the ski teams have been training for the last several weeks, the EISA schedule doesn’t begin until January. The Nordic team begins on Jan. 14 at the St. Michael’s Carnival, while the alpine season begins on Jan. 21 when �ֲ���ý hosts a carnival at Sunday River and Black Mountain.

For the latest sports news, scores and updates, visit the �ֲ���ý Athletics Web site.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have gotten off to impressive starts at �ֲ���ý College, with both teams undefeated through the first three weeks of the season.

The men’s team is off to the best start in program history, winning its first eight games, including tournament titles at Brandeis, UMass Boston and Norwich. The Bobcats have dominated the competition, winning by an average of more than 17 points and leading at halftime in all but one game. The team also started the Colby-�ֲ���ý-Bowdoin series with a win, defeating Bowdoin in Brunswick, 85-66.

The women’s team is ranked 21st nationally by D3hoops.com. The Bobcats are 6-0, gaining national attention with a 61-37 drubbing of the University of Southern Maine, ranked second nationally, in the third game of the season. Olivia Zurek ’05 (Arlington, Mass.) was named the NESCAC Player of the Week on Dec. 6 and became the 13th member of the 1,000-point club earlier this season.

The men face the University of Maine at Farmington at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium on Wednesday, while the women host the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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