Robbinsville’s postseason run comes to an end
Robbinsville – The Lady Knights held all the cards: home-court advantage, two wins over their opponent earlier this year and a wave of momentum coming off a huge road victory Feb. 25.
But it was not meant to be.
Robbinsville (No. 8 seed, 15-2) fell 49-37 to the visiting Murphy Lady Bulldogs (No. 13 seed, 15-2) in the third round of the 1A state playoffs Saturday, bringing a magical season to an end a little sooner than anticipated.
“I thought the girls played really hard; the effort was definitely there,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford said. “We were a little caught up in the moment of the sectional final, and that’s something that comes with experience. It’s great for our program, moving forward.
“It was great having fans and being back in the normalcy of the game.”
The crowd of 250 packed into the Robbinsville High School gymnasium Saturday witnessed a much-improved defensive effort from Murphy, which kept the Knights reeling throughout the first half, as the Bulldogs held Robbinsville to just 15 points across the first two quarters.
Lady Knights’ sophomore point guard Desta Trammell did hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer and Robbinsville would outpace Murphy 10-8 in the third segment, but the early deficit proved too big to overcome.
Normally sharp from outside, the Knights struggled from beyond the arc Saturday, making just four in the ballgame. Murphy’s Torin Rogers pulled down 15 boards during the game, preventing Robbinsville from several hopes of second-chance shots.
“We couldn’t sink in offensively and we got out-of-sync running our plays,” Ford observed. “Defensively, we were very sound. We contested shots; they just made some. We held them to 49 points – which was the lowest point total we had against them all year – but we only scored 37. We’ve been having 30 points in a game by halftime all season.
“I feel that we were all really excited for the game, especially coming off a win at East Surry,” Robbinsville sophomore Desta Trammell said. “With that excitement, we should have converted that energy into smart basketball energy/defense. We knew that it was going to be a tough game, and we dug ourselves into a hole at the start. I feel that we were just very spastic at the beginning.”
Looking ahead
The Lady Knights lose just one starter – Gabby Hooper – and will bid farewell to three other seniors (Karcee Dooley, Lina Pagan and Kandee Stewart), but look to be in phenomenal shape for another run when the 2021-22 season tips off.
“You hate to see seniors go, but you look forward to seeing them go out and prosper in the future,” Ford said. “They’re going to go into life and be very successful. They will be great mothers, wives, church and community members one day. That’s what our program is all about and the side most don’t see; that’s what it’s all about. There’s no win or loss bigger than these kids’ lives.”
“I feel that we have the potential to be a great team next year as well,” Trammell added. “We have a lot of players returning and some coming up that I feel can contribute some good basketball to our team.
“With that being said, we are going to have to put in the hard work in this offseason. We have seen how good we can be if we all work together and believe in each other, like we did this season.”
Second-round rally
Pilot Mountain – East Surry led 26-8 after the first quarter of the Feb. 25 second-round playoff match. Robbinsville won the game 72-60, as the Lady Knights upended the No. 1-seeded Lady Cardinals (13-1) in a huge road victory.
East Surry began the game on an 11-2 run. Down – but not defeated – the Knights outpaced East Surry 24-13 in the second segment, before tying the affair 40-40 on a Kensley Phillips layup early in the third. Yeika Jimenez dropped in a bucket a minute later to give Robbinsville a 42-40 advantage, capping a 10-1 Lady Knights run to begin the second half.
Though the Cardinals led 52-50 entering the fourth, the Knights’ speedy defense held the host school to just eight points in the final stanza.
Trammell – held scoreless in the first quarter – hit a trey to pull Robbinsville ahead 55-54 early in the fourth and the Lady Knights never looked back.
“The future’s in our hands. If these girls are willing to dig in and put in the work it takes to be a conference, sectional, regional or state champion, we’ve got that opportunity,” Ford said.