Morganton – The deepest playoff run in Lady Knights’ basketball history was halted in the state semifinals on Saturday.
Though Robbinsville (21-9) held the defending 1A state champions Bishop McGuinness (27-4) to its third-lowest single-game output of the season, the Knights never overcame a lethargic first quarter, dropping the 1A Western Regional title game to the Lady Villains, 41-30.
“We didn’t settle down quick enough in the first quarter,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford said. “We had some nerves – which is to be expected – but a team like Bishop has been in those big-time games, so maybe they handled that situation a little better, early on.
“But we settled into our own, cut it to six and we talked at the half about how we needed to draw first blood; we didn’t need to let them go on another run. They started each half very well – better than we did.”
Senior point guard Desta Trammell’s sprint toward Robbinsville’s all-time scoring record ended at 1,950 points (the leader is April Holder, who scored 2,005 from 1986-89). Trammell led the Knights on Saturday with 16, while adding three assists, three steals and one rebound.
Sophomore small forward Liz Carpenter ran into foul trouble in the first half – which led to her early fourth-quarter exit from the affair — but her second-quarter work inside reinvigorated Robbinsville’s offense, which had fell behind 21-9 at the end of the first stanza. She ended the game with eight points and two rebounds.
Junior center Aubrie Wachacha also needed a quarter to get going, but finished with four points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Senior Fala Welch scored what proved to be Robbinsville’s final basket of the year with under a minute left to play. Fellow classmate Kensley Phillips posted another solid performance of four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Though Bishop McGuinness did over half its damage in the opening segment, the Lady Knights outpaced the Villains 8-2 before halftime and only trailed 23-17 at the pause, but could not pull any closer thereafter.
Robbinsville did a fine job after the first quarter of limiting perennial Bishop scoring threats Adelaide Jernigan (sophomore, 12 points) and Tate Chappell (senior, 11) – both of whom nailed two from outside early in the game – but struggled to shut down junior power forward Kiersten Varner, who shot her way to a team-high 16 points in the regional final. She had back-to-back baskets to begin the third quarter to push Bishop ahead by 10.
“We knew watching film that every one of their players could play,” said Ford, who sits at 113-43 as Robbinsville’s head coach since taking over the program before the 2017-18 season.
“We knew they wouldn’t have a player on the floor that couldn’t shoot, so it was really just taking your chances. We did a great job defensively, but once we went (to) man (defense), we did a good job scrambling and covering.
“We just struggled scoring. They were a tough matchup; they could switch screens and still defend. We pounded the ball inside well in that second quarter; Desta did a great job breaking down the defense, and getting some dishes to Liz and Aubrie.
“We just never could get it within striking distance.”
Reflections
The Lady Knights finished second in the conference this season, going 8-2 in the division and finishing as runners-up in the conference tournament to Cherokee (26-4). The Lady Braves were put out by Bishop McGuinness in the fourth round, 56-42.
Phillips and Trammell have made waves across the Robbinsville girls basketball program since they first donned PeeWee uniforms. The tandem spearheaded the offense of a middle-school program that sent shivers across the area each time the Lady Knights came up next on the docket and ultimately went 46-1.
And that was before entering the varsity ranks.
“This season has probably been my favorite season of high school basketball yet,” Phillips told The Graham Star on Monday. “Each year, we were thought to go very far in the playoffs, and we’re supposed to be the “dream team.” That never was the case until this year.
“Everyone has always told me my senior year was going to be rough and that we wouldn’t have a great team. We were determined to prove everyone wrong and we did. We truly finally had the “dream team” that everyone thought we had years past. In other years, I think people thought since we were good athletes that we would go very far, but honestly this year I have never been closer to a group of girls than this basketball team.
“Being like a family truly helped us go so far and make history at Robbinsville. We weren’t playing for ourselves, but for each other and the community. We wanted to go as far as we could and show everyone that they were wrong about us.
“After fighting all season long to get all the way to regionals, our season finally came to an end. We were all devastated because we knew we could have brought home a state championship. Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, I believe everything happens for a reason and getting to regionals my senior year was a whole lot to ask for. This has truly been my favorite year, and it is definitely so rewarding to have gone further than anyone has been before at Robbinsville High School.”
Trammell emerged as the scoring threat she had already shown herself to be in middle school once she entered her freshman year. Phillips – who finished with 701 career points herself – settled into being the most-respected defender in the division.
Trammell did make history at the state level, however: she set the state record for consecutive free throws made, connecting for 63 between her junior and senior seasons. She was also named the Smoky Mountain Conference’s Player of the Year for 2020-21, a season in which Robbinsville won the divisional title and advanced to the Elite 8 (sectional final).
“I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of the varsity Robbinsville Lady Knights’ basketball team for four years,” Trammell said. “It has flown by so quickly, and I have made memories and friendships that will last forever.
“This season has been something different. The dedication that everyone had to the team – and the hard work that each person put forth – is something that has made this season stand out. We went from being an OK basketball team to making history as the only team to make it to a regional championship. We could have easily given up after our early season losses, but we chose to battle back and improve for not only ourselves, but each other.
“I would not change the relationships, memories or time spent with this basketball team for anything in the world and I believe that we truly put Robbinsville basketball on the map. I hope that I have done my part to encourage other little girls just getting started to try their hardest and have been an example that no matter how small someone may be, if they put the time and effort into something they can make an impact.”
“We’ve had some really great teams and players, but those two have such a special bond,” Ford said of Phillips and Trammell. “The program will definitely miss these seniors. They’re a huge part of who we are and a huge part of my family, so to speak. My kids and my wife love and appreciate those girls as much as I do.”
Welch did not don a Robbinsville jersey until her junior year, but made an impression of her own as a gritty inside defender for the Lady Knights.
“I personally feel that the year overall was a huge success,” Welch said. “At the beginning of the season, we weren’t playing to our full potential – but once we learned to overcome adversity and work together as a team, we kicked butt.
“The past two years, Robbinsville High School has taught me a lot. When I left Cherokee High School and came to Robbinsville, I wasn’t expecting so much to change; the work ethic between the two schools is unbelievably different. There is a reason Robbinsville is called “Title Town;” the athletic program works hard with their athletes to make them better and ready to face whoever or whatever life throws at them. Watching from the sidelines as the basketball team was working to win the state title was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
For those keeping score at home, the Lady Knights’ record while Phillips and Trammell were in high school concludes at a hefty 77-25 (35-10 in Smoky Mountain Conference play). Robbinsville never failed to reach at least the second round of the postseason during the run.
“I’m super proud of these kids and what they accomplished,” Ford said. “The run they went on after the slow start to the season is remarkable. You don’t just improve overnight in basketball; it’s a process. They worked and got better, and peaked at the right time.
“The memories these girls got during this playoff run is something they will cherish for the rest of their lives. That’s what’s great about high-school sports; they got to take something with them that they will never forget and fail to look back on. They can tell their kids and their people, ‘we were that team.’”
What lies ahead
Now what?
Obviously, this year’s Lady Knights raised the bar to heights previously unseen, by making it to the state semifinals and proving that even if you do not end up with a favorable playoff seed (Robbinsville was No. 13 in the 1A West bracket), a program should never give up on a season until the final buzzer sounds.
Trammell has been the point guard since her freshman year. Phillips has been a quick, pesky defender all over the floor. Those voids will be hard to fill.
But looking at the roster, all hope is not lost. Carpenter and Wachacha will remain a force to be reckoned with inside. Freshmen Suri Watty and Abby Wehr have shown flashes of shooting brilliance and a keen-eye for defense all season.
To address the rest, Ford and his staff made the choice to take over the junior-varsity program and in turn, Robbinsville’s junior varsity girls won its first game in three seasons, finishing 6-8 overall and reaching the conference-tournament finals themselves.
So there’s work to be done – but the right tools are already in stock.
“Coming into this year, there was a lot of people that said girls basketball here would be a wash, but the cupboard is far from bare,” Ford said. “Through coaching both the JV and varsity, it gave us an opportunity to get the program ready to go forward. We wanted to see who we had that would play and put in the work.
“We had a junior (Wachacha), a sophomore (Carpenter) and two freshmen (Watty and Wehr) on the floor for the majority of the minutes this year. That’s four kids you bring back right there. The JV group improved tremendously this year.
“But it’s no secret: we’ve got to find a point guard. There are a lot of good possibilities for that role, but it will hinge on who wants that job and how much they’re willing to work between now and then. This next point guard does not have to be a ‘Desta Trammell;’ they don’t have to be an elite scorer, because they do have great pieces around them to work and build. If you want to strive to be like her and work like Desta, go ahead. We’ll take that. But whoever it is does not have to be her, because that would be hard to replicate. Somebody will fill that role.”