Hayesville – Murphy girls basketball head coach Ray Gutierrez knew this year’s team would take time to gel.
With only two players back playing serious minutes from last year’s state championship squad, he was hoping things would fall into place as the season went along. Like every coach, he wanted his team playing its best basketball at the end of the season.
The Lady Bulldogs were progressing on that track until recently, with a 63-59 loss to Cherokee on Jan. 25, snapping a 10-game losing streak. Murphy bounced back with a 68-45 win over Hiwassee Dam on Thursday, then cruised past Hayesville 51-27 the next day.
“It was good to see the girls come out with some energy and really jump on them,” Gutierrez said. ”I thought our defense and full-court press was really effective tonight.”
Things that weren’t as effective against the Lady Braves and Lady Eagles worked against the Lady Jackets. Against Cherokee (10-5 overall, 3-2 Big Smoky Mountain Conference), Murphy trailed 14-2 at the end of the first quarter before eventually tying the game in the fourth quarter, but never got over the hump. Murphy led 19-3 over Hayesville at the end of the first quarter.
“Our first quarter against Cherokee was not good,” Gutierrez said. “That’s been something we talked about the last couple games. We want to have a good start.”
The fast start allowed the Lady Bulldogs (16-3, 6-1) to play at their preferred quick pace and get opportunities in transition, something they started to do more of against Hiwassee Dam after never getting in sync against Cherokee. Murphy led 36-10 at halftime against Hayesville (6-10, 2-4) and led 45-12 before Torin Rogers and fellow senior Amber Martin were done for the night.
Friday night looked like the Lady Bulldogs are getting back on track, but they found out for sure Tuesday at Robbinsville. The game, which ended after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press, will likely decide the winner of the Big Smoky Mountain Conference championship.
Both teams have one loss in conference, and the Lady Knights host Cherokee on Thursday. In this year’s playoff format, if there’s an outright conference champion, they get a guaranteed top seed.
In Murphy and Robbinsville’s case, that likely means multiple home playoff games if they make a deep run. Finish in second place, and it’s likely one home playoff game and multiple long bus trips if you continue to advance.
Like Cherokee, Robbinsville has the personnel to give Murphy problems and a full-court press that can give teams fits. A 33-point, 15-rebound and nine-block game from Rogers made the difference last time in a 54-48 Murphy win, and she could make the difference again in this game.
“The conference championship’s on the line,” Gutierrez said. “As I told the kids,