Robbinsville – The last time the Robbinsville Lady Knights varsity basketball team defeated Cherokee, current freshman point guard Desta Trammell was in the fourth grade.
That 71-61 home victory over the Lady Braves – which took place Feb. 6, 2015 – was the only time Robbinsville knocked off Cherokee during the season, which included a third-round playoff loss to the Braves.
But a 66-56 win over the Lady Braves (7-4, 3-1) on Monday night snapped a nearly five-year skid against the Smoky Mountain Conference foe, as Robbinsville (7-2, 1-2) is riding high off an Orlando, Fla. Christmas tournament championship.
“We definitely were ready for the game, because we knew it wouldn’t be easy at all,” Trammell said. “We came out a little slow, but we really kicked it in when it mattered.”
The offense was slow during the first half of Monday’s win, with Robbinsville trimming the deficit to 32-26 at the break on a Cambrie Lovin 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Then, the Knights woke up.
Five consecutive 3’s in the third stanza proved to be the turning point of the game.
Trammell agreed.
“It got us fired up and we started playing D after that,” Trammell said. “Things just fell in place.”
Lovin and Trammell had two each in the segment, with Halee Anderson serving up a shot from beyond the arc as well. The Lady Knights raced to its first lead of the game in the frenzy and never looked back, opening up a 10-point advantage with two minutes left in the game.
Robbinsville was also helped immensely by a high foul-shot percentage in the game. The Lady Knights were 17-of-23 from the charity stripe (74 percent) on the night.
Trammell led the offense with 24 points, one rebound, one steal and one assist. Also scoring was Lovin 14, Anderson 11, Yeika Jimenez 7, Gabby Hooper 5, Kennedy Cable 4 and Karlyn Matheson 1.
The triumph over Cherokee was wedged between a 65-34 win at Smoky Mountain (7-4) on Friday and a 55-44 loss at Rosman (6-5, 2-4) on Tuesday.
Trammell dropped 22 points on the Lady Mustangs in Friday’s win, which saw a remarkable improvement from the first game against Smoky Mountain this year, a 55-47 home victory Dec. 19.
Others to score were Lovin 11, Kensley Phillips 8, Hooper 5, Lina Pagan 5, Jimenez 5, Anderson 4, Ava Barlow 3 and Matheson 2.
Individual stats from Rosman were not available at press time.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville’s junior varsity Lady Knights (0-5) might still be searching for their first win, but the team is coming along nicely.
A much-inspired effort at Smoky Mountain on Friday ended in a 45-35 loss, before Cherokee picked up a 44-26 win Monday and Robbinsville fell at Rosman on Tuesday.
Against the Lady Mustangs, Kandace Holder led Robbinsville with 17 points. Also scoring was Kandee Stewart 8, Chloe Phillips 6, Madisyn Ellington 2 and Emma Birnhisel 2.
The home loss to Cherokee featured Ellington posting a team-high 10 points. Others to score were Stewart 9, Tai Owle 5 and Phillips 2. Individual scorers from Rosman were not available at press time.