Murphy – With Fannin County threatening late in the third quarter Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs needed to come up with a bucket to keep the Lady Rebels at bay. In what was almost another empty possession while leading 41-34, senior Torin Rogers flung the ball behind her head in an attempt to save it inbounds.
Murphy kept possession and worked the ball around the perimeter until it ended up in the hands of Addie Johnson. The freshman knocked down a 3-point shot to push the lead back to 10 and keeps some distance between the Lady Bulldogs and Fannin County. Rogers, who started the play, and Johnson, who finished it, led the way for Murphy, which handed the Lady Rebels their first loss of the season, 58-48.
“It was a battle,” Murphy head coach Ray Gutierrez said. That was why we schedule these people. … They got good kids, and we wanted to play one of the best in our state versus one of the best in their state. To come away with a win, it was awesome.”
Coming into the season, Gutierrez knew what he had in Rogers and Amber Martin, who are the only returners with experience in competitive varsity games. With a tough early season schedule, the Lady Bulldogs (2-1 overall) need to figure out who else besides Rogers and Martin are capable of hitting shots and aren’t afraid of the moment. After scoring just eight points in Murphy’s first two games of the season, Johnson had 13 points and 10 rebounds and didn’t play like a freshman.
“Addie’s biggest thing is confidence,” Rogers said. “She’s a great player, she just has to know it. Whenever she’s feeling it, Addie can do big things for us.”
Murphy and Fannin County (4-1) scrimmaged earlier in November, and there was a sizable crowd on hand for two of the best programs in the area. The Lady Bulldogs have won back-to-back state championships, while the Lady Rebels were runner-up in the Georgia High School Athletic Association’s AA division.
After Murphy led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Bulldogs started to separate in the second. Murphy hit seven 3s in the first half, including three early in the second quarter that pushed the lead out to 26-16. Fannin County would score three straight to cut the lead to seven, but the Lady Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 run to close out the first half.
When Murphy was clicking in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs were getting stops on defense and able to push the tempo to make sure the Lady Rebels couldn’t get settled on the defensive end. Murphy did a decent job limiting Fannin County senior and University of West Georgia commit Becca Ledford, who scored 17 points but never got into a rhythm.
Fannin County shot better in the second half, and pressured Murphy ball handlers bringing the ball up court to limit easy looks. The Lady Bulldogs weren’t as effective in the half-court, but made enough shots to stay in control. The Lady Rebels never got closer than six and had little answer for Rogers, who scored eight of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Murphy. The Lady Bulldogs host 3A power Enka High School today, then will travel to Hiwassee Dam on Friday and Lumpkin County in Georgia the next day.
The final game of the week could be especially challenging, as the Indians are the No. 1 3A team in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We’re learning on the fly and trying to depend on kids we’re throwing into the fire early here,” Gutierrez said.
“Hopefully, it’ll make us better when we get to conference play and make a playoff run.”