Lady Braves spoil Knights’ return
Cherokee – Fresh off an 8-day quarantine and a pair of practices, the Robbinsville Lady Knights felt ready to return to the court.
But after a hard-fought first quarter Friday night at Cherokee (4-0, 4-0) – after which Robbinsville emerged with a 23-21 lead – the Lady Knights were held to just six points in the second quarter and were unable to catch up thereafter, ultimately falling 70-57.
“We worked really hard to keep them pushed off the 3-point line, but kudos to them; they were hitting them 3, 4-foot deep (outside the arc). They’re a really good basketball team,” said Knights head coach Lucas Ford. “They shot 73 percent from the 3-point line; it was just one of those nights where they got really hot and we suffered from being out a week, conditioning-wise.”
Robbinsville’s schedule was interrupted after its Jan. 5 home season opener against Rosman, as a Lady Tiger tested positive for COVID-19 following the contest. The Lady Knights (2-1, 2-1) each took send-off tests Monday, Jan. 11 and every player’s sample came back negative the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 13. Robbinsville was back in the gym that same afternoon.
“I’m not making excuses, but by the first mask-break, we were doubled-over, sucking wind,” Ford said. “We started out really good, pressed well, but then you could just see it; our legs were dead, our energy went away. We played catch-up the rest of the game.
“But we’re not going to let this loss define us; I think it opened our eyes a little bit. Here’s the difference I see with this team: Saturday morning, the team called a players-only practice at 9 a.m. They were disappointed in themselves.”
The Knights recovered from the loss Tuesday night, traveling to Bryson City and holding off a late Swain County (1-3, 1-3) charge to pick up a 63-62 win.