Robbinsville Lady Knights' drub hosts
Sylva – One team looked like they had not missed a beat.
The other struggled to shake off the holiday break.
In the first day of the 2022 Smoky Mountain Christmas Invitational, the Robbinsville Black Knights could not replicate the success they had against the hosting Mustangs on Nov. 30 – a 64-54, season-opening overtime victory – suffering their first loss of the year in a tightly-knit 71-65 defeat.
Meanwhile, the Lady Knights lit up the scoreboard from the opening tip, pounding the basket inside and out in an easy 74-40 win over the Lady Mustangs.
Pacing the path for Robbinsville (7-1, 3-0) in the boys’ loss was Xander Wachacha, who posted a hefty 21 points. Brock Adams dropped 13 on Smoky Mountain (5-5), with his younger brother Bryce Adams posting 12. Rounding out the scoreline for the Black Knights was Donovan Carpenter, 9; Bo Rattler, 5; Caleb Draper, 3; and Dane Knott, 2.
As she has done all season, Desta Trammell led Robbinsville (6-2, 2-1) with a 25-point day against Smoky Mountain (5-5).
The tally pushed Trammell over the 1,400-point mark, as she will enter today’s tournament finale with 1,403 on her high-school resume.
Also scoring for the Lady Knights was Kensley Phillips, 15; Liz Carpenter, 12; both Aubrie Wachacha and Suri Watty, 8 each; and Katie-Lyn Gross, 6.