Lady Knights shake off overtime road scare

Highlands – The trip to Highlands School often produces a mixed reaction from any team that endures the winding journey to the plateau.

Playing their third game in a 4-day span to open the regular season, the Robbinsville Lady Knights held steady at the break Friday, ahead 25-20 over Highlands (0-9).

But the third segment almost doomed Robbinsville: a scant five points found the inside of the net, while Highlands gladly pulled ahead 33-30 amid the Knights’ offensive struggles. Shooting improved enough in the fourth for regulation to end in a 42-42 deadlock, forcing overtime. Robbinsville benefitted greatly from its senior power forward Aubrie Wachacha staying out of foul trouble down the stretch, as she scored 6-of-10 for the Knights in the final four minutes to open the door for Robbinsville’s victorious escape, 52-49.

Mustangs tamed

Robbinsville – Wachacha had a 21-point night at Highlands – a stark contrast to her showing the previous evening, where she only recorded eight in Robbinsville’s 57-43 win over Smoky Mountain (4-3).

Instead, the bulk of the success rested on the shoulders of point guard Abby Wehr, small forward Liz Carpenter and senior guard Delaney Brooms.

A sophomore, Wehr is filling the role of the Knights’ proverbial quarterback. She only had five points in Dec. 5’s opener against Nantahala, but broke away from the pack to drop 13 on the unsuspecting Mustangs just two nights later. She also dished out a team-best seven assists and nabbed five rebounds against the 3A visitors.

Brooms has not played in two years, but showed no signs of rust in the contest. She posted eight points, four rebounds and an assist in relief, providing critical offense and defense at moments in the game where Smoky Mountain was seemingly trying to turn the tide.

Carpenter has turned up the intensity in her junior campaign, hustling into the paint fearlessly for rebounds and sprinting down the floor to interrupt possessions. It doesn’t hurt that the 5’ 9”, multi-sport extraordinaire has also topped double-digits on the scoreline in all four games thus far.

Out-of-state trip

Copperhill, Tenn. – For the only time on the schedule this year, Robbinsville continued its 3-game road trip with a visit across the state border Tuesday, venturing to Copper Basin (Tenn.)

The Lady Cougars led the Knights 35-33 entering the fourth, but the work of Brooms, Wehr, Claire Barlow and Wachacha were ultimately enough to lift Robbinsville past Basin.

Suri Watty’s 3-point shooting helped the first-half cause, as she hit three from beyond the arc before the break. She led the Knights’ offense with 11 points in the triumph.

Junior varsity

Robbinsville’s up-and-coming players emerged from a low-scoring affair in the JV season opener against Smoky Mountain with a 33-28 decision in the Knights’ favor.

Bentley Riggins was responsible for 13 Robbinsville points in the game, while MyKayla McGuire scored six. Both Maleah Cox and Ella McGuire put up 4 for the Lady Knights, with Novie Dutcher recording three. Katie-Lyn Gross hit a pair of first-quarter free throws, while Chasity Jones sank a foul shot in the fourth to round out the scoreline.