Lady Bulldogs Repeat as State Champs, Complete Dominant Playoff Run

Trinity, NC- The Murphy Lady Bulldogs faced the Princeton High School Lady Bulldogs in the NCHSAA 1A State Championship at Wheatmore High School in Trinity, North Carolina.

The Bulldogs topped off their DOMINANT playoff run with a 76-35 win over Princeton.

This was the fourth State Championship in school history and although they did not finish the season undefeated, it was perhaps the most impressive season in the history of the program. They were on the road for every playoff game, defeated the #1, #2, and #3 ranked schools in the state, all while outscoring playoff opponents by 132 points (336-204).

Murphy came into the game and left no doubt from start to finish who the best team in the state was. They had a chip on their shoulder after not being able to play in last years State Championship game, which was cancelled thanks to the COVID-19 protocols.

They found themselves down 5-0 early in the First, but that would be the only time they trailed in the entire game after rattling off a 12-0 run and ending the quarter leading 19-14.

The start of the Second quarter was all Kaiya Pickens. She knocked down three straight three pointers and accounted for 13 of the Dogs 26 points in the quarter. Torin Rogers capped off the second quarter with a deep buzzer beater three from the parking lot, allowing Murphy to take a 45-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The deep ball was falling early and often for Murphy, as they knocked down 8 threes in the first half.

In the Third quarter, Sarah Pullium ignited the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball as they held Princeton to 4 points in the entire quarter, and outscored them 24-4.

In the Fourth, some of the younger girls on this Murphy team gained some experience as Murphys starters sat for most of the quarter, and the Bulldogs ultimately came away with a 76-35 victory.

Murphy didn’t just dominate the game on the back of the three ball, they also outscored Princeton in the paint by double digits.

Torin Rogers led all scorers with 22 points. Sarah Pullium and Kaiya Pickens were right behind Rogers as Pullium tacked on 20 and Pickens 18. All three girls sat for most of the fourth quarter with the game already being out of reach.

This was the 128th Win for Head Coach and Athletic Director Ray Gutierrez during his tenure at Murphy.