Dominant decade: Gutierrez earns 200th win against Hayesville

    Murphy – He hasn’t even been coaching for a full decade, but Murphy girls basketball head coach Ray Gutierrez has had plenty of success during his coaching tenures at Hiwassee Dam and Murphy.
    Early in his eighth season of coaching high school basketball, Gutierrez has already eclipsed the 200-win mark with the Lady Dogs’ recent dominant 71-47 victory over conference foe Hayesville.
    “I’ve had some great kids and some great teams from Hiwassee Dam and Murphy,” Gutierrez said of passing the milestone. “I’ve been blessed to have coached so many good players”
    Murphy’s shutdown of Hayesville was a staple Lady Dog win, with Gutierrez’s patented press defense punishing the Lady Jackets throughout the match.
    “We love to turn on our TVs and watching offense, high scoring stuff,” Gutierrez said of his 200th win coming on a defensively-dominant night. “I’m a believer that you can have the best of both worlds and in girl’s basketball, you really have to sell out on the defensive end and be able to shut people down. Put pressure on the ball and it will create all kinds of scoring opportunities. It is a system that we’ve had great success with over the last eight years and it’s has a lot to do with the girls that we’ve had come through these programs.”