With a tough loss to the No. 2 seed Bishop McGuinness, the Murphy girls varsity basketball team’s season came to a close.
The Lady Bulldogs started their playoff campaign with a win over Highland Tech at home in the second round after a first-round bye. They then went on the road and lost to Bishop McGuinness, a longtime playoff foe of 1A and now 2A teams in western North Carolina.
Girls win at home
The Lady Dogs got a first-round bye in the state 2A playoffs, then hosted Highland Tech on Thursday night. Murphy got the 45-21 win to advance to the third round.
Emma Laney got the scoring started for the Lady Dogs, then Murphy extended its lead to 10-3 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. The Lady Rams of Highland Tech then fought back to make it a two-point game in the final minutes.
Murphy led 12-10 after the first quarter. The Lady Dogs maintained their lead throughout the low-scoring second quarter.
Murphy led 16-14 at halftime after both teams combined for eight points in the second quarter. The court tilted in favor of the Lady Dogs in the third quarter as they scored 17 points while shutting out the Lady Rams.
Eight of Murphy’s 17 points in the third quarter came from Ellie McClure who made converted all six free throw attempts she had. She also had a two-point field goal for her eight-point third quarter.
The Lady Dogs closed out the game with a 12-point fourth quarter to win. Laney led Murphy with 12 points, while McClure scored 11.
Lady Dogs fall
Murphy went on the road for the third round of the playoffs and faced Bishop McGuinness. The Lady Dogs fell to the No. 2 seed on Saturday 59-16 in a tough game.
The Lady Villains of Bishop McGuinness got an early jump with 18 points in the opening quarter to lead 18-2 heading into the second quarter. They added 21 more points in the second quarter to lead 39-7 at halftime.
After the half, the Lady Villains pulled even further away with a 20-point quarter to lead 59-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Dogs scored eight points in the fourth quarter while shutting out Bishop McGuinness, but it was too late.
Ilie Smith, Amelia Joyner and CJ Yarbro led the Lady Dogs with four points each. Emma Hensley and McClure had two points each.
The Lady Bulldogs end the season with a 16-11 overall record.