Lady Knights place 2nd in conference
Robbinsville – The second time around, the Lady Knights made sure to definitively put the game out-of-reach early.
In its home, regular-season finale, Robbinsville (15-5, 8-2) outpaced Cherokee (13-6, 6-3) 19-15 in a competitive first quarter, before pulling away with a 10-point lead at the break and an 18-point advantage by the end of the third, ultimately prevailing 68-49.
“I like where we are as a team. We’re getting better,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford said after Tuesday’s win at Hayesville.
Desta Trammell posted 24 points – leading the Lady Knights – while also tallying three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Yeika Jimenez finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block, while Halee Anderson’s inside work led to 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Others adding to the victory were Zoie Shuler 10, Kensley Phillips 4 and Delaney Brooms 3.
Road trip
Andrews – Robbinsville finished the regular season on the road, overcoming an early deficit to cement a 33-point first quarter Friday in Andrews (0-21, 0-11), which later spurned a 73-29 Lady Knights victory.
Trammell again led the way with 20 points.
Also scoring for Robbinsville was Jimenez 17; Aubrie Wachacha 8; Anderson, Brooms, Phillips and Shuler, with 6 each; and Montana Buchanan, Liz Carpenter and Garrett with 2 each.
Strong finish
Hayesville – The Lady Knights capped off the conference portion of the slate Tuesday, knocking off Hayesville (7-14, 2-8) 54-40 on Tuesday night.
“I told the girls in the locker room before the game, ‘Anytime you come to Hayesville, you’re going to play a well-coached team. You’re going to play a team that – if you’re better than them – they’re going to try to slow the tempo down to a crawl,’” Ford said. “We’ve got caught up in that before – been better than them, but come over here and got caught up in a 30-30 game and them actually beat us.
“To come over here and finish the conference season up (at) 8-2, I’m very proud of the girls.”
Trammell again led the pace with 17 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Jimenez recorded 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist, with Phillips adding 10 points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.
Also scoring was Brooms 9 and Anderson 7.
“Delaney, Liz, Aubrie and Montana all came in and gave us some good minutes tonight,” Ford added. “Having those girls step up was huge.”
Junior varsity
Robbinsville (0-10) dropped the junior-varsity opener to Cherokee on Feb. 3, 53-16.
Jozlyn Garland led the Lady Knights with six points, one assist, one rebound and one steal.
Also scoring for Robbinsville was Anna York 5, Memory Frapp 2; and Tia Hall, Rayne Lambert and Olivia Stewart with a free throw each.