Conference victories calm troubled waters for Robbinsville
Robbinsville – Fresh off losing their first conference opener since a 66-60 loss at Hayesville on Dec. 20, 2019, the Lady Knights could have felt dejected as they headed into Friday’s showdown with Murphy (1-7, 1-2).
Instead, Robbinsville showed up and showed out.
Bolstered by a double-double (25 points, 10 assists) from senior point guard Desta Trammell – as well as 20 knockdowns from fellow classmate Kensley Phillips – the Knights dictated the outcome from the opening tip of a 59-48 victory over the Bulldogs.
“We haven’t peaked yet; Cherokee is a really good team,” Trammell said of the 78-59 home loss Dec. 13. “But I’m glad we saw that early, so we could focus on what we need to work on. The past few days, we’ve been focusing on rebounding and getting better shots.
“Cherokee is very disciplined; we’ve just got to stay dialed in – and be tougher, mentally – the next time we face them.”
Also contributing to the final scoreline for Robbinsville was Liz Carpenter, 8; Aubrie Wachacha, 4; and Suri Watty, 2.
“I think it actually helped us to play Cherokee, because it showed us where we were and what we needed to work on,” Phillips noted. “Before the Murphy game, we were able to focus on our weaknesses at practice, instead of constantly working on our strengths – because we really didn’t know our weaknesses.”
Early present
Andrews – Any team yearns for a game like Robbinsville had at Andrews on Tuesday.
The 69-32 routing of the Lady Wildcats was a flex of what the Lady Knights’ roster can do. Robbinsville (5-2, 3-1) quickly dashed the hopes and dreams of Andrews (1-7, 0-3) in the first quarter, pulling away from an early 9-5 advantage by going on a 15-0 run that comfortably placed the Knights in the driver’s seat for the duration.
“When we have a game like tonight, I really try to feed the ball to the players that don’t get a lot of opportunities to step up – since our conference has so much competition,” Phillips said, speaking as one of Robbinsville’s captains. “It’s really good for them to get game experience; it’s a lot different than practice. I think it will help them a lot next year.”
Trammell emerged from the crowded scoreline with 27 on the night, nudging her career tally to 1,378.
“I saw a lot of people step up tonight,” said Trammell, another captain for the Knights. “Aubrie was big down low. Anna Williams came in and she did great; I think everybody contributed well tonight. It was good to see the other girls get to put in their minutes. I’m really proud of everyone.”
Filling out the remainder of the book was Phillips, 11; Watty, 10; Carpenter and Williams, 6 each; Katie-Lyn Gross, 4; Abby Wehr and Fala Welch, 2 each; and Wachacha, 1.