Lady Bulldogs stay perfect, advance to semis

Murphy Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports

It was another packed house Tuesday, March 4, as the Lady Bulldogs tipped-off the state quarterfinal game against the East Surry Lady Cardinals. The same East Surry team that this time last year ended Murphy’s state championship dreams with a last second 3-pointer.

Lady Bulldogs

Sophomore Torin Rogers takes a free throw Tuesday night. Rogers finished the night with 27 points.

It was the Lady Bulldogs (29-0) that got the last laugh this year however, beating the Lady Cardinals 65-45 and advancing to the NCHSAA Class 1-A state semifinals.

East Surry (20-6) started the game with a strong defense, forcing Murphy into some bad shots and creating turnovers, which allowed them to take a 21-19 first-quarter lead.

Settling down in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs were able to lock in defensively and rely on senior Sydni Addison to create some open looks on offense. The result was a three-point lead for Murphy, 31-28, at the end of the first half.

Lady Bulldogs

Senior Sydni Addison sets up on the free-throw line Tuesday night.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Lady Bulldogs settled in and started looking more like themselves, sharing the ball and playing a much tighter brand of defense than they were able to in the first half. Murphy ended the third quarter on a five-point run, giving them a 48-39 lead to start the fourth.

Despite some turnovers on offense, the Lady Bulldogs blew the game open in the fourth using a defense that held the Lady Cardinals to just six four-quarter points to seal the 65-45 victory.

Division-I prospect, sophomore Torin Rogers, was the focal point of the offense all night for the Lady Bulldogs. She scored a game-high 27 points while going a 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

In a game where offense seemed hard to come by at times, Rogers did not shy away from the challenge when she was asked to step up and be the leader, creating open looks for herself and teammates alike.

Murphy will travel to Lenior-Rhyne University this Saturday, March 7, for the NCHSAA Class 1-A Western Regional Championship game, which will be played against the winner of Wednesday’s Mitchell vs. Alleghany game.

Murphy girls advance to state playoff quarterfinals

Murphy Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports

Saturday, Feb. 29, the Murphy Lady Bulldogs and the Cherokee Lady Braves played in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 at Murphy High School in the third round of the NCHSAA 1-A state playoffs. Sophomore forward

Murphy

Senior Sydni Addison sets up on defense. Addison scored 20 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs.

Torin Rogers returned to the lineup after missing the previous playoff game with an ankle injury. Rogers didn’t miss a beat, putting up 14 points in the Lady Bulldogs 63-44 route of the Lady Braves.

Murphy

Sophomore Torin Rogers lines up a free throw Saturday at home.

Murphy (28-0) started the game off hot, as senior Sarah Pullium got the team on the right track with eight first-quarter points. Pullium’s push helped the Lady Bulldogs jump out to a 20-6 lead. In the second, Rogers built onto the lead with six points in the quarter, padding Murphy’s lead to 36-14.

Senior Sydni Addison was the leading scorer for the day with 20 points, including two deep 3-pointers in the third quarter that helped the Lady Bulldogs build a 22-point lead heading into the fourth. The final quarter concluded without many fireworks from either side and the game ended just as it began, with Murphy in control.

This was the fourth time that these two rivals had the opportunity to face off this year and the Lady Bulldogs definitely got the best of the Lady Braves, walking away from all four games with a victory.

Tuesday night, March 3, at 6 p.m., Murphy will host East Surry in the quarterfinals of the NCHSAA 1-A state playoffs. Murphy will have revenge on the brain coming into this one against a Lady Cardinals team that knocked them out of the state playoffs in the semi-finals last year at Lenior-Rhyne University, on a last second 3-pointer.

Lady Bulldogs pummel Union Academy

Murphy Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports
Murphy

Thursday night, Feb. 27, the undefeated Murphy Lady Bulldogs tipped off against the Union Academy Lady Cardinals in the second round of the Class 1-A NCHSAA state playoffs.

Lady Bulldogs

Senior Sydni Addison takes a jump shot.

The Lady Bulldogs (27-0), the top seed in the tournament, were without one of their leading scorers in Torin Rogers. Rogers is day-to-day as she recovers from an injury sustained during

Lady Bulldogs

Murphy girls head coach Ray Gutierrez.

the opening tip of the first-round playoff game against the Pine Lake Prep Pride. However, much like the first-round game, the Lady Bulldogs were able to take this one easily from the Lady Cardinals, 61-36.

Things were tight at the end of the first quarter as the Lady Bulldogs led 17-8, but they were able to stretch the lead to 15 going in to halftime, 31-16. Murphy came out of the locker room hot and shut Union Academy down, which enabled them to pull away and close out the game with ease, saving any late game theatrics for a later date.

Murphy will face Big Smoky Mountain Conference rival Cherokee in the third round of the NCHSAA 1-A state playoffs at home Saturday, Feb. 29. This will be the fourth time these two teams have faced each other this year, with the most recent being in the conference championship where the Lady Bulldogs won in a thriller, 59-56. Cherokee (18-9) is the ninth-seeded team in Murphy’s side of the bracket.

Back to Top