Murphy – The Murphy girls basketball team had the perfect storm brewing for an upset Thursday against Robbinsville. The Lady Bulldogs started out hot, getting a good balance of looks and transitions in the half court to lead the whole first half and by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.
They withstood a run by the Lady Knights and still led 54-46 with about five minutes remaining. However, Robbinsville still found a way in the end, relying heavily on senior point guard Desta Trammell, as well as some timely steals and free throws from others, to come away with a 64-59 win.
As much as a loss like that can sting, head coach Gary Thompson couldn’t completely hang his head. It was a stark contrast from the first matchup between the two teams, when Robbinsville jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 59-48 win.
“I tell them all the time look in the mirror after the game,” Thompson said. “If you like what you say and left it all on the floor, that’s good. And I told them tonight when they look in the mirror in the morning, they’ll like what they say. They played hard.”
The first matchup helped Murphy (7-12 overall, 3-4 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) see how they needed to play to win, getting easy looks in transition to offset a half-court offense that was still a work in progress. The Lady Bulldogs’ offense has grown since then, and they complemented it with solid defense to build a 40-27 lead with 5:10 to go in the third quarter.
Murphy was getting its usual production from sophomore Addie Johnson and junior Lailee Holloway, but also got strong nights from senior Lochlan Rogers and freshman Emma Laney. Holloway would finish with a team-high 20 points, while Johnson and Laney had 14, and Rogers had 12.
The defense was getting the job done, too, as Trammell penetrated at times but
did not have a clear path to the rim. That started to change in the later minutes of the third quarter. After Murphy built the lead to 13, Trammell had eight points, including two three-point plays.
She got some help from Kensley Phillips and Aubrie Wachacha in the fourth quarter, though continued to make big plays. She hit two free throws to cut Murphy’s lead to 54-52 with 3:55 left, then her layup with about two minutes to go gave Robbinsville (11-7, 5-2) its first lead at 56-54. Trammell would finish with a game-high 27 points.
“Desta Trammell’s the best player in the league,” Thompson said. “If she’s not, she’s close. She’s a great finisher around the basket. She gets to the basket well.”
Murphy continued to battle, with two free throws from Johnson tying the game with 1:20 left, and a three-point play by Holloway putting them in front 59-58 with 56.4 seconds left. But Trammell put the Lady Knights in front on the next possession.
Suri Watty came up with a steal and found Trammell ahead of the play for a 62-59 lead. Johnson had an open look for Murphy on the next possession, but couldn’t convert.
As the season winds down, Murphy has put itself back in position for a playoff berth after an 0-6 start. That start though, left them right on the bubble, as the Lady Bulldogs were ranked No. 30 in the 1A West RPI rankings as of Jan. 30, and 32 teams from the West will qualify for the playoffs.
The Lady Bulldogs previously beat Hayesville 45-30 on Jan. 24 to help stay on the right side of the bubble, and Tuesday night’s home game against Swain County was also a must win. They host Highlands tonight for Senior Night, then travel to Andrews on Friday.
As much as Murphy has looked better in some areas as the season has gone along, it needs to show in the win column down the stretch as the Lady Bulldogs chase a state playoff berth.
“We know it’s like do or die,” Johnson said. “We have to go now. It’s kind of late looking into it, but we were like, ‘Oh we got to go.’ ”