Hiwassee Dam – Though the hosts put up a gallant effort, it was Robbinsville who stood tall at the end of Monday's fourth-round playoff game.
The Lady Knights were thankful for a short road trip in their final excursion before the regional championship, visiting Cherokee County to play Hiwassee Dam in the Elite 8 of the postseason. Robbinsville persevered through some early scares from the Lady Eagles to open up a 57-48 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Hiwassee Dam (No. 4, 19-9) made one final push in the fourth – even trimming the deficit to 68-67 at one juncture – but was unable to pull back ahead as Robbinsville (No. 9, 16-11) advanced to its third Western Regional title game in program history by clinching a 72-67 win.
Zayleigh Chekelelee led Robbinsville with 25 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals. Abby Wehr finished with 17 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals, while Zaelyn Phillips tacked on 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals for good measure.
Rounding out the Lady Knights' offense were Novie Dutcher and Aaliyah Wolfe, 5 each; Zachlan Chekelelee 4; and Bentley Riggins 2.
Brinkley Payne put up 33 for the Lady Eagles, leading Hiwassee Dam in the loss.
The Lady Knights now advance to play Andrews (No. 6, 20-10) to determine the 1A Western champion at 3 p.m., Thursday, at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory. The Lady Wildcats downed Summit Charter (No. 10, 18-13) Monday in the other Western Elite 8 match-up, 46-42.
The 1A Western Regional championship game will be streamed through the NFHS Network.
Look for more on Robbinsville's Elite 8 victory in the March 5 edition of The Graham Star.
Third round
Mooresboro – The Lady Knights might have returned home Saturday night with some battle scars, but they also returned home as winners.
Robbinsville traveled to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy for the third round of the state playoffs, and brought along its unique brand of hustle and grit to the unsuspecting Lady Gryphons. Thomas Jefferson (No. 1 seed, 21-6) was visibly caught off-guard by Robbinsville's tenacity from the get-go and fell behind 14-5 in the first quarter. In turn, the Knights never trailed and bucked the top 1A team from the postseason in a 50-41 triumph.
Robbinsville opened up an 8-2 lead in the first quarter and even led 14-5 at one juncture. Addled, the Lady Gryphons needed some time to piece together a comeback and managed to get within a respectable margin before halftime, thanks to a pair of trey's from Hannah Yelton that cut the deficit to 26-21.
Both programs struggled at the foul line all night, but the Gryphons came within one point of tying the affair when Samara Jones split her trip to the charity stripe late in the third. With the clock ticking down, the Lady Knights padded their lead when Bentley Riggins deposited a lay-up at the one-second mark to send Robbinsville into the fourth with a 37-34 advantage.
Zachlan Chekelelee sank a jumper early in the fourth to put the Knights up by five; Thomas Jefferson was unable to build a threat across the final eight minutes of the game.
Freshman point guard Zayleigh Chekelelee shined throughout the contest, maintaining a high-paced tempo for much of the contest and swishing a whopping six 3's through the net to finish with a team-best 18 points for Robbinsville. She also accumulated five assists, five rebounds and four steals along the way.
Zaelyn Phillips racked up 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block; while Bentley Riggins recorded seven points, four rebounds and an assist.
Rounding out the Lady Knights' scoreline were Abby Wehr 4 and Zachlan Chekelelee 3.
Samara Jones hit 18 to lead the Lady Gryphons.
After traveling 830 miles in a three-day span for its first two playoff games, Robbinsville (No. 9, 15-11) will enjoy a short trek for its Elite 8 match-up Monday. The Lady Knights have a 6 p.m., appointment at Hiwassee Dam (No. 4, 19-8), in a game that will be live-streamed exclusively through grahamstarsports.com.
Second round
Summerville – On paper, the match-up looked to be fairly even.
Robbinsville cast that idea aside quickly, scoring 11 points before Bethany Community School mustered a response in Thursday's second-round playoff game. The Lady Knights never allowed the hosting Lady Wolves to pack within sniffing distance of a threat for the remainder, dominating on both sides of the ball in a 52-18 blowout win.
Right off the opening tip, the Knights established their presence. Zayleigh Chekelelee took the offering and dished it quickly to Wehr, who scored a lay-up before most fans had even settled back into their seats from the opening festivities. The duo turned into a lethal scoring combination during the segment, as both hit a separate pair of 3's in the stanza to play a huge role in Robbinsville building a 21-2 lead.
Bethany Community School (No. 8, 17-9) had its best offensive showing in the second, but failed to break into double-digits as the Knights broke up any hopes the Wolves had of stringing together some momentum. Robbinsville crashed the boards with vigor throughout the proceedings – giving Bethany Community very few opportunities at second-chance shots – and also broke up a plethora of drives before the Wolves could reach the interior.
The Knights came out of the locker room and sealed the deal in the third, molding a 31-13 halftime advantage into a 51-14 nod by the end of the quarter. Robbinsville started the third on a 14-0 run before Bethany Community's Shelby Jumpe hit the only point of the period for the home team: a free throw, at the 2:14 mark.
All told, both Phillips and Wehr finished the demolition with 14 points each for Robbinsville. Responsible for much of the rebounding nightmares the Wolves will endure for the next few sleepless nights, Phillips also had eight boards, two assists and one steal; Wehr added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block to the final outcome.
Also scoring for the Lady Knights was Chekelelee 11; Riggins 8; Bella Coats 3; and both Haizleigh Driver and Aaliyah Wolfe, 1 apiece.
Braelyn Pinnex led the Lady Wolves with seven points.
Black Knights
Robbinsville – A magical run as the top seed in the 1A Western bracket came to an end Saturday night.
The Black Knights welcomed Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy to Graham County, with the visiting Gryphons taking a slim first-quarter and failing to relinquish it thereafter. Robbinsville stayed in the fight for the remainder, but could not pull ahead late in a tough 64-60 loss.
Kristian Bauzo led Robbinsville (21-6) with 19 points in the game. Nathan Frederick posted 12, while Dane Knott and Luke Lovin put up nine each.
Others to contribute for the Black Knights were Xamuel Wachacha 7; and Eli Lambert and Kyzik Teesateskie, 2 apiece.
Chana Malachi paced Thomas Jefferson (No. 8, 14-12) with 19 points.
Second round
The Black Knights survived a second-round scare Thursday, overcoming a first-half deficit to advance to the Sweet 16 of the state playoffs.
Bearing the No. 1 Western seed for the first time in program history, Robbinsville began its postseason journey by hosting the Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy Eagles. The visitors opened a 34-29 lead before the break, before the Knights rallied from behind to pull ahead 45-42 at the end of the third period and flew away from the No. 17 seed to pick up a 67-51 triumph.
Knott led Robbinsville with 22 points in the victory. Frederick dropped 18, while Lovin recorded 14.
Others scoring for the Black Knights were Wachacha 4; Bauzo and Kasen Buchanan, 3 each; Lambert 2; and Elijah Kirkland 1.
Kamran Nichols paced Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy (5-15) with 17 points in defeat.