Robbinsville girls knocks off Tellico, Andrews
Robbinsville – Needless to say, things fell in place for the Lady Knights on Tuesday.
Robbinsville (6-3, 2-1) piled 38 points onto Andrews (0-8, 0-3) in the first quarter of Tuesday’s Smoky Mountain Conference match-up, as the full-court press suffocated the Lady Wildcats’ offense in an easy 69-13 victory.
The win was the second in a row for a Lady Knights team that slipped twice around Christmas: a 54-48 loss at Murphy on Dec. 21 and a 56-47 loss at Tellico Plains, Tenn. on Dec. 28.
But for Robbinsville, all it took to adjust was a simple tune-up in its preparation.
“We adjusted the intensity of our practices the most,” said senior Halee Anderson. “We started focusing more on the backend of practice, because we noticed we kept getting in slumps in the third quarter.”
Leading the crowded Knights scoreline against Andrews was Desta Trammell, who posted 21 points, three assists and one steal. Through nine games this season, Trammell is averaging 20.4 points per game and sits at 877 for her career.
Kensley Phillips racked up 11 points, five steals, two rebounds and two assists, while Yeika Jimenez had nine points, four steals, four assists and one rebound.
Other Lady Knights to score were Zoie Shuler 8, Liz Carpenter 6, Aubrie Wachacha 5, Anderson and Montana Buchanan with four each, and Fala Welch 2.
Revenge time
Robbinsville – Playing the Tellico Plains, Tenn. Lady Bears for the second time in as many days, Robbinsville would not be denied.
A spirited, second-half effort against the visitors Dec. 30 helped the Lady Knights erase the bad taste of a 56-47 loss on Dec. 28, as Robbinsville prevailed 55-49.
“Tellico’s girls are legit; they’re one of the best teams – if not, the best team – we have played,” said head coach Lucas Ford. “We were able to get in the press and force some turnovers.”
The Lady Bears led Robbinsville 26-23 at the break, but the Knights went on a manic 23-6 run to pull ahead 46-32 by the outset of the fourth.
All told, Jimenez and Phillips led the scoreline with 14 points each for Robbinsville.
Jimenez ultimately had a double-double, with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals to her credit. Meanwhile, Phillips added four rebounds, three steals and two assists to the final tally.
Trammell only dropped 10, but had eight assists, four steals and three rebounds to aid the effort.
Also scoring for the Lady Knights in the win over Tellico were Anderson 6, Dallas Garrett and Shuler with 4 each, and Brooms 3.