On a cold, cold Tuesday night in Avery County, the Murphy Lady Bulldogs were caught in a dog fight against the Avery Lady Vikings in the elite eight of the NCHSAA 1a State Playoffs.

#35 Sydni Addison takes the ball into the paint

From the very start, the Lady Bulldogs were caught in a stalemate with the Lady Vikings as both teams were putting up points early. Until a couple of three’s by Torin Rogers and Aubrey Clapsaddle helped the dogs jump to a 15 to 9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Sydni Addison came out with a fire as she took a charge and drilled a 3 to give Murphy their largest lead yet, 22 to 9 with 5 and a half left to play in the 1st half. The Lady Vikings weren’t going to let it get out of hand however, as Senior guard Hannah McIntosh gets a couple of buckets to fall and brings the Vikes within 7 at the half, 27-20.

The 3rd quarter was all Lady Vikings. They get hot and go on a run, pulling within 1 point to start the fourth quarter, 37-36.

After a quick Sydni Addison layup and a couple of deep threes from Aubrey Clapsaddle, the Bulldogs take an early fourth quarter lead 50-42 with 2:32 left in the ball game. The Lady Vikings weren’t going away quietly however, as their defense smothered Murphy like gravy on a biscuit down the stretch, forcing turnover after turnover and eventually turning it into a 3 point game with only 18 seconds remaining in regulation. With less than 10 seconds on the clock, the Vikings show some grit and drain a three to tie the game up and send it to Overtime.

#11 Torin Rogers fires up a clutch free throw in the second half

The Vikings take a quick lead to start Overtime, but Aubrey Clapsaddle doesn’t let it last long, as she bangs in a three and then an easy layup to make it 63-60 Bulldogs. After Hannah McIntosh for the Lady Vikes answers with her own three pointer to tie the game up with less than a minute left, Murphy’s Kaiya Pickens hits a three and the Bulldogs force a turnover. The Vikings quickly foul and send Pickens to the line as she sinks both free throws to put the nail in the coffin and give the dogs a 68 to 63 victory over the second seeded Avery Lady Vikings. Aubrey Clapsaddle, Torin Rogers and Sydni Addison led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, with 24, 16, and 17 points, respectively.

This Murphy team has shown a lot of heart this season and everyone in the gym on Tuesday was witness to that. Coach Gutierrez has gotten his team to buy into what he’s selling and along with that the community has bought in also. The visiting stands in the Avery High School gym were full of black and gold, with fans traveling over 3 hours on a miserably cold week night to cheer on this women’s basketball team that just seems to have a different swagger about them than teams in previous years.

The Bulldogs travel to Hickory on Saturday the 9th, to face off against the number 1 seed East Surry Lady Cardinals in the Final Four of the NCHSAA 1a State Playoffs.