Trammell continues pursuit of history
Hiwassee Dam – At the end of the first half Monday, Desta Trammell had 21 of Robbinsville’s 33 points.
The Lady Knights went on to prevail in a 74-65 road battle against the Hiwassee Dam Lady Eagles – with Trammell accounting for the lion’s share of the load: 44 points. Padding the effort were eight, 3-pointers – something that has became her patented weapon of choice.
The showing reset her single-game record, which occurred when she delivered a
42-point evening Jan. 19 at Swain County. Before this season, the 2020-21 Smoky Mountain Conference Player of the Year’s personal record was 36 – coincidentally enough, also set at Swain County.
At 1,686 for her career after Tuesday’s trouncing of the Andrews Lady Wildcats, she is definitely in the upper echelon of all-time scorers for the Lady Knights. The all-time leader is April Holder, who amassed 2,005 between 1986-89. Trammell surpassed her sister Tacey’s 1,557-point conclusion (2008-11) two weeks ago.
But two games in two weeks, with 40-plus points? Why the sudden uptick in production?
She is quick to defer credit or note anything that has changed about her gameplan before each tip-off, however.
“My focus each game is to try and create my offense off fast breaks and get to the line, which I feel everyone did well tonight,” Trammell said after Monday’s win. “Along with this, my team did a good job working the ball around, allowing me to put myself in good positions to shoot the three as well.”
Hiwassee Dam (11-9) did not make life easy for the visitors. If not for three of Trammell’s eight from beyond the arc in the first quarter, the Lady Eagles would have held the lead. Instead, Robbinsville (13-7, 6-2) emerged with a 23-17 lead and though Hiwassee Dam never caught up, the hot shooting of Kiera Taylor (22 points) and Olivia McNabb (19) consistently kept the Eagles nipping at the Knights’ heels.
Robbinsville struggled to contain Hiwassee Dam’s inside attack, but the Lady Eagles had few answers for the Knights’ full-court press. Robbinsville senior Kensley Phillips made life stressful for Katie McNabb in their pairing up and down the floor, tying with Trammell for the team lead in steals on the evening: four each. Phillips also accounted for six assists in the game, helping the scoreboard production as well.
Scare survived
Murphy – With 2:23 left in the game, Trammell picked the ball away, sprinted down the floor and dropped a deposit into the net.
The transition points gave Robbinsville its first lead of Jan. 26’s battle at Murphy, which saw the Bulldogs dictate the pace for ¾ of the evening before the Knights came to life at just the right time to prevail, 64-59.
“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford astutely observed. “Anytime you win a conference game on the road in our conference, it’s hard to be disappointed.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well, missed a lot of shots and missed a lot of lay-ups as well, but we found a way to win the game.”
To its credit, Murphy (8-12, 4-4) looked more cohesive than in its first showdown with Robbinsville, taking advantage of a shaky beginning for the Knights by forcing turnovers and outclassing Robbinsville on the boards.
The Lady Knights managed to cut the deficit to just two on a pair of occasions in the second, thanks to a Trammell lay-up and a Liz Carpenter putback. However, a strong performance from Murphy’s Lailee Holloway and Emma Laney continually kept the comeback bid at-bay, with the Lady Dogs leading 29-23 at halftime.
The advantage multiplied to 13 midway through the third, but Robbinsville sliced the lead in half after going into its patented full-court press. Kensley Phillips made the Lady Bulldogs pay with consecutive steals deep in Knights’ territory, scoring once in transition and missing the second – before Carpenter sprinted in to clean up the snafu.
“I challenged our kids’ will to win at the half; I told them that I felt like in the first half that Murphy wanted to win a little more than we did,” Ford said. “In the second half, we could have rolled over when we were down 40-27, but that’s when you began to see the relentlessness of these young ladies.
“We just chipped away until you could see the defeat on their (the Bulldogs’) faces.”
Following Trammell’s go-ahead in the fourth, Holloway would later cinch a 3-point play at the 58-second mark. Trammell scored again in transition with 24 seconds to go, off a Suri Watty steal that pushed Robbinsville ahead 62-59. Scrambling, Murphy attempted to draw up a pair of 3-point shots from Addie Johnson on the wing, but the attempts at the 15- and 10-second marks both came up empty.
On either launch, Carpenter was right there to pull down the rebound – more importantly, drawing fouls that resulted in two more for insurance that helped the rally claim. The sophomore would finish with 15 points and 13 rebounds on the evening.
Home sweet home
Robbinsville – The Lady Knights were understandably thrilled to return to their friendly confines for a game – something that only occurred four times in January – and in their Tuesday reunion with friends and family, dished out a 64-33 win over the Andrews Lady Wildcats.
To its credit, Andrews (3-19, 0-8) made things interesting in the first half, keeping the deficit at 18-8 after one and holding tough at 31-16 at the pause. Robbinsville quickly dashed any hopes of a rally in the third, going on a 15-0 run to begin the second half and eventually outscoring the Lady Cats 20-3 in the third segment.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville (4-6) held firm Jan. 26 and prevented a Murphy rally in a 37-33 road victory over the Lady Bulldogs.
Helen Ward recorded 14 points to lead the Lady Knights. Also scoring for Robbinsville were Kiara Swartz and Anna Williams, 6 each; Katie Lyn-Gross and Anna York, 4 each; Olivia Lewis, 2; and Abby Wehr, 1.