Lady Knights eliminated in second round of playoffs
Pilot Mountain – If not for a lethargic second quarter, Robbinsville very well could have advanced to the third round of the state playoffs.
But the Lady Knights (No. 13 seed, 22-7) ran into offensive trouble at East Surry (No. 4 seed, 20-6) on Feb. 27, watching what started as a competitive affair turn into both an insurmountable deficit and an abrupt end to their season, as Robbinsville dropped a 62-45 game to the defending 1A Western Regional champions.
“We’ve talked all year about how you can’t lay an egg – in individual quarters – against a good basketball team,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford said. “Tonight, we played a really good basketball team that shot the eyes out of the basketball.
“It seemed like every shot they took, they hit.”
East Surry flourished beyond the arc, draining nine 3-point shots during the course of the game. The Lady Cardinals hit two early in the game and opened a quick 10-2 lead as a result. Robbinsville responded with a 10-0 run, capitalizing on East Surry turnovers and capping the spurt with the go-ahead layup from Kennedy Cable with 45 seconds remaining in the first stanza.
It was the only time the Lady Knights would lead in the game.
The Lady Cardinals scored five quick points in the closing seconds of the quarter and hit another trio of treys in the second segment. Meanwhile, Robbinsville’s offense hit a lull, as Cambrie Lovin’s 3-pointer proved to be the only points the Knights produced before halftime.
Turnovers began to plague Robbinsville in the second half, when the Lady Knights were unable to trim the deficit beyond 14 points for the remainder of the game.
“We dug ourselves in a hole, but we challenged them at halftime to come out and compete. We did,” Ford said. “We didn’t roll over.
“This is the most fun we’ve had as a team since we took over the program. It was challenging at times, but it was fun. There were high expectations, but my expectation as a coach is to challenge these young ladies to be better people and to leave our program better than they came into it.”
In her final game for the Lady Knights, Cambrie Lovin scored a team-high 21 points and recorded three assists.
She finished her career at Robbinsville with 1,339 points and 307 career 3s – third most all-time in the state – and just last week, was announced as the only Graham County player named to play in this year’s Blue/White All-Star Game.
“It definitely goes by a lot faster than you could ever imagine,” an emotional Lovin said. “Of all the years of basketball, I’ve had the most fun this year. A lot of laughs.
“I don’t want the younger girls to take it for granted. Every practice, every game, is special.”
Fellow senior Karlyn Matheson had eight points and three rebounds in her last high school basketball game.
“It’s surreal to not know what you’re going to do after school,” she admitted. “After volleyball, I knew I had basketball, but now, it’s over. This is it.
“These girls are my best friends.”
“I’m very proud of our two seniors,” Ford added. “They were here when we took over the program. They’ve been through two, 20-win seasons. That’s pretty remarkable and speaks highly of both Cambrie and Karlyn.
“If we can impact their lives and they can go out into society and be a better citizen, mother and wife, we feel like that’s the important thing. High-character kids lead to wins.”
Also scoring in the finale was Desta Trammell 7, Cable 7 and Yeika Jimenez 2.
Next year begins now
There is simply no way to be successful if off-season work is kept to a minimum. But between travel ball and summer camps, the Lady Knights will see plenty of court time before the 2020-21 season tips off.
Ford is optimistic. Though losing Lovin and Matheson will be a major blow to the program, there is still plenty of talent rising through the ranks.
“The group we’ve got coming back … to say that the expectations we’ve got aren’t very high would be a lie,” Ford said. “If they’ll get to work, they can have anything they want; they’re that talented of a group.
“The freshmen that came in (Trammell and Kensley Phillips) played a lot of minutes. The sophomores (Jimenez, Cable and Halee Anderson) and juniors (Gabby Hooper, Lina Pagan and Ava Barlow) … we’re excited.”