Murphy – It was business as usual for Murphy girls basketball this week. With wins over Swain County (68-31), Highlands (65-40) and Andrews (71-29), the Lady Bulldogs have won eight straight games.
“We played pretty good basketball this week,” Gutierrez said. “We had some people step up all week long. We’re shooting it really good and there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
The week also allowed Murphy (12-2 overall, 5-0 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) to throw in some wrinkles that past teams have used well, including a press that was key in wins over Swain County and Highlands. The Lady Bulldogs have had to be more strategic about when to push the tempo than in years past, but it worked well in both games.
With Rogers at the top of the press against the Lady Devils, Murphy led 39-6 just a few minutes into the second quarter. Against the Highlanders, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 15-4 lead thanks to its defensive pressure. Highlands was able to hang around for the second and most of the third quarter thanks to an off shooting night by Murphy, but the Lady Bulldogs cranked up the pressure again late in the third quarter and early in the fourth for a 19-0 run that extended the lead to 57-26.
“It’s just something that I think we’re good at that if we need to go to our kids, it makes them excited,” Gutierrez said.
“It becomes a fun game to get up and down the court. We’re pretty athletic, and it plays to our advantage.”
Against Andrews on Friday night, Murphy had a different strategy. Seniors Amber Martin and Torin Rogers didn’t play at all, with Gutierrez instead aiming to get reserves and younger players more time.
While Rogers has been a dominant all season, Martin plays a huge role as one of the team’s primary ball handlers and consistent shooters The rest of the team answered the bell, putting a running clock on the Lady Wildcats in the first half and hitting 16 three-pointers.