Robbinsville girls back on-track
Robbinsville – Two early conference losses have done little to deter the end goal.
The Robbinsville Lady Knights (10-2, 2-2) have seemingly put the setbacks in the rearview mirror, knocking off Smoky Mountain Conference foe the Swain County Lady Devils (3-9, 2-4) on Friday, plus Little Smoky Mountain Conference teams Highlands (5-9) and Nantahala (2-13) during last week’s slate.
“I think our shot selection was a lot better than at Rosman (a Jan. 7 loss),” said senior Karlyn Matheson after Friday’s home victory over Swain. “The biggest thing for us is cohesiveness and coming together to play. I would say the loss at Rosman motivated everyone. Everyone on the team has been in the gym, getting in some extra shooting.”
Matheson’s showing against the Lady Devils played out to the tune of 11 points and six boards. Freshman point guard Desta Trammell was seemingly anywhere the basketball was, posting a team-high 13 points, two rebounds and eight steals, while Cambrie Lovin had 12 points, one rebound, one steal and three assists.
The first quarter was an even tilt, with Robbinsville grabbing an ever-slight 16-15 advantage at the end of the chapter. The Lady Knights pulled away in the second when Trammell pulled off her second and third transition baskets and sparked a run that led to a 36-24 halftime advantage.
Halee Anderson’s contributions to the cause also cannot be underscored enough. Though she only had four points in the victory, her defensive prowess – seven rebounds and three steals – kept the Lady Devils at-bay throughout the game.
“I just felt like we lost pretty bad on Tuesday (at Rosman) and I felt like we needed to come out stronger than we have before and show that nothing is going to stop us,” Anderson said.
Other to score against Swain were Yeika Jimenez 10, Ava Barlow 7, Kandace Holder 5, Gabby Hooper 4, Lina Pagan 2 and Kennedy Cable 1.
The home game with Highlands resulted in a 60-44 Robbinsville victory.
Things appeared hairy early-on, with Highlands limiting the Lady Knights to just five first-quarter points. That obviously did not set well with Robbinsville, as a 24-point second followed and the Knights were ahead 29-20 at the break, a lead they never relinquished for the remainder of the game.
Lovin’s 18 points led the Knights’ effort. Others to record points for Robbinsville was Jimenez 16, Matheson 8, Trammell 5, Pagan 5, Hooper 3, Cable 3 and Anderson 2.
Tuesday at Nantahala, the Lady Knights picked up a 77-20 win.
Lovin led Robbinsville with 14 points. Also scoring was Trammell 10, Anderson 9, Jimenez 9, Hooper 7, Kensley Phillips 7, Matheson 6, Pagan 5, Holder 4, Barlow 4 and Cable 2.
Junior varsity
In the lone junior varsity game of the week, the Lady Knights (0-5) fell to Highlands, 39-21.
Madisyn Ellington scored a Robbinsville-high nine points in the game. Also scoring was Kandee Stewart 6, Emma Birnhisel 3, Chloe Phillips 2 and Tai Owle 1.