Bryson City – Both Murphy basketball teams picked up their first Big Smoky Mountain Conference wins of the season on Dec. 20 at Swain County.
The Lady Bulldogs dispatched the Lady Devils 61-54, while the Bulldogs eked past the Devils 46-43.
The win was the Murphy girls first of the season, as they came back from a double-digit, first-half deficit to come out on top. Addie Johnson led the way with a game-high 17 points, including a 14 for 16 night from the free throw line. Freshman Emma Laney set a new career-high with 15 points, while Lailee Holloway chipped in 14.
Swain County (4-3 overall, 1-2 conference) got off to a hot start, hitting six 3’s in the first half on its way to a 28-16 lead. The Lady Devils would only hit one the rest of the game, while the Lady Bulldogs (1-7, 1-2) settled in.
A 14-2 run cut the lead to 30-27 at halftime, with the last four points of the half coming on free throws from Addie Johnson. That was a theme for Murphy on the night, as the Lady Bulldogs went 24-for-30 from the foul line, compared to just 5-for-12 from the Lady Devils.
Murphy quickly tied the game to start the second half, as Lochlan Rogers hit one of two free throws and Holloway scored off an out-of-bounds play. A layup on a runout by Rogers gave the Lady Bulldogs their first lead of the night at 34-32, and the two teams were content to trade baskets until the game was tied at 41 about midway through the third quarter.
A second-chance layup by Julia Dockery and a fast-break layup put Murphy up by more than two points for the first time all game. That kickstarted a 12-4 Lady Bulldogs run that ended with a three-point play by Laney with 3:39 to go in the fourth quarter.
Swain County had one final push, and a 3-pointer by Kiersten Smith trimmed the Murphy lead to 54-52 late in the fourth quarter. Johnson would score the Lady Bulldogs’ final seven points of the game, all at the foul line, to come away with the victory. Murphy had been playing with good effort so far this season under new head coach Gary Thompson, but until that game had not done enough for all 32 minutes to come away with a win.
The Murphy boys team (3-5, 1-2) had a similar battle against Swain County, coming away with a hard fought win. In two wins at Swain County the last two seasons, the Bulldogs have won by a combined five points.
After some time off for the holidays, both Murphy teams will return to the court today at the 28th annual Battle of the States Tournament at Towns County High School in Hiawassee, Ga. The two Bulldogs teams are in the upper part of the bracket and will face Franklin, with the girls game tipping off at 10 a.m. and the boys game following at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Both Panther teams won the Mountain 7 conference last year and should be tough matchups for Murphy. Despite meeting every year on the football field since 1952, Murphy and Franklin have not played each other in basketball since Dec. 20, 2011.