1st hiccup of year comes against Andrews
Robbinsville – The Lady Knights were not prepared for what transpired on their home court Tuesday.
Hosting the Andrews Lady Wildcats – a team that just took a 79-9 trouncing at the hands of Cherokee on Friday – Robbinsville was seeking a 6-0 start to the sequel from its historic run to the regional finals.
But the unthinkable happened: Andrews (5-2, 1-1) upset the Knights in a 56-55 shocker that left many in attendance silenced over what had occurred.
Andrews’ girls basketball program has languished in the Smoky Mountain Conference cellar since last clinching a playoff berth at the end of the 2018-19 season: a year that saw the Cats go 7-19.
In the four seasons that have followed, Andrews collectively won seven games. In turn, Robbinsville (5-1, 1-1) has had very little troubling disposing of its Cherokee County neighbors; the closest scare took place Jan. 24, 2017, when the Tiffany Holloway-led Wildcats lost a 47-45 tussle in Robbinsville.
With the limited window of time between the game and Wednesday’s press deadline, The Graham Star could not find a single loss on the books for the Lady Knights against the Lady Wildcats as far back as 2004; a span of 19 years.
So, where did it all go wrong Tuesday?
Simple: Andrews hustled. Shots fell. Junior point guard Kylie Donaldson celebrated her 17th birthday in perhaps the most memorable way a high-school basketball player could: snapping a lengthy skid against a divisional program and leading the Cats with 25 points on the night. To help pad her effort, inside threats Kinleigh Queen and Alexis Beasley remained stubborn enough on the boards and inside drives that their work resulted in respective 14- and 11-point evenings.
But it’s not like Robbinsville showed up, donned uniforms and went through the motions: there were plenty of chances. Easy layups and long-range jumpers that bounced, teetered and spun all around the rim – but failed to drop through the net – were not uncommon for the Knights on Tuesday. Robbinsville led Andrews 12-11 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats emerged from a back-and-forth second with a 27-21 halftime advantage. The lead came thanks to an 8-0 run that Beasley sparked on a putback for Andrews with 3:18 left on the clock.
The Lady Cats did not relinquish the lead thereafter. The Knights did draw the affair to within two on a few instances; the most significant was a mad spurt from Liz Carpenter that started late in the third and spilled into the fourth, which almost erased an 8-point deficit for Robbinsville. Carpenter had a burst of 11 points in the segment, after turning in just three during the first half.
Knocking on the door of tying the game and forcing overtime, Suri Watty swished a 3-pointer with 1.5 left in the game, which brought the score to its final outcome. The best the Knights could hope for was picking off the ensuing inbound from Andrews, but the quest failed.
In addition to Carpenter’s 21, scoring for Robbinsville was handled by Aubrie Wachacha, with 9; Abby Wehr 8; Watty 6; Claire Barlow 4; and the trio of Delaney Brooms, Bentley Riggins and Anna Williams, who scored 2 each.
Win in opener
Murphy – Robbinsville began divisional play Friday, pulling away from the hosting Murphy Lady Bulldogs after a 31-25 first half to pick up a 63-45 win.
The Lady Knights never failed to score in single-digits throughout any of the stanzas – and neither did Murphy (0-5, 0-2), until the Bulldogs unraveled in a 16-5 showcase for Robbinsville in the third.
Carpenter again led the Knights’ offense with 17 points.
Delaney Brooms continued to plead her case as a force to be reckoned with, depositing 14; while sophomore Bentley Riggins – who is one of the “flex” players that can check in for both junior varsity and varsity games, thanks to last year’s rule change – dropped 10.
Rounding out the scoreline was Aubrie Wachacha 8; Abby Wehr 7; Watty 4; Claire Barlow 2; and Anna Williams 1.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville’s next crop of varsity standouts bumped their season record to 2-1, with the JV Lady Knights splitting the slate against Cherokee County schools in the form of a 52-30 loss at Murphy and a 42-9 dismantling of Andrews.
Riggins led the Robbinsville scoreline at Murphy with 13 points.
Other JV Knights to score were Novie Dutcher 5; MyKayla McGuire 4; and a basket each from Maleah Cox, Katie-Lyn Gross, Chasity Jones and Tiara Welch.
Tuesday’s lopsided win was led by 11 points from MyKayla McGuire. Others helping round out the finish was Riggins 9; Ella McGuire and Dutcher, 6 each; Gross and Welch, 4 apiece; and Cox 2.