The New York Times

DIONNE COE has a sweet outside shot and eyes that light up when she sees a loose ball on the court. Shequana Harris has quick hands and an explosive first step to the basket. Both seniors, they arrived at school in September confident that this would be their year — college scouts, scholarship offers, a brilliant star teammate and a chance to lead their school, Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, toward its 14th consecutive city championship.

Ms. Murphy was killed on Sept. 11, in the first weekend of the school year.

The star teammate, Tayshana Murphy, was a nationally ranked point guard who had missed the previous season because of knee surgery. Now the three were finally going to play together.

“During the summer, all I used to talk about was, yo, we taking it this year,” Ms. Coe said.

Then, around 4 a.m. on Sept. 11, the first weekend of the school year, Ms. Murphy was outside her building in the Grant Houses, a sprawling public housing complex at the edge of Morningside Heights, when a group from the neighboring Manhattanville Houses approached. Residents of the two housing projects had been feuding since the spring and had brawled the previous afternoon

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