Lady Knights Fall to Lady Bulldogs in SMC Tournament Final
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports February 19, 2022
The Robbinsville Lady Black Knights took on the Murphy Lady Bulldogs Friday night in the SMC tournament final. This is the third time the two teams have faced off, and every single one of the matchups has been great games. The Lady Knights came up short for the third straight time against Murphy. The Lady Bulldogs won the tournament final 56-49. Robbinsville now heads in the NCHSAA playoffs; it would be a surprise to no one, though, if these Lady Knights got one more crack at Murphy deep in the playoffs.
Desta Trammell launches a three point shot.
1st Half:
Murphy got off to a good start offensively while Robbinsville struggled a little early. Murphy hit several three-pointers, allowing them to take a lead of 15-7 by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Knights played even with the Lady Bulldogs from the second quarter on. Sophomore Zoie Shuler led the way for Robbinsville in the second quarter with six points. Murphy could not extend their lead much as the game would go into halftime with Robbinsville trailing 26-17.
2nd Half:
It appeared Murphy might cruise to victory coming out of the halftime break with some quick baskets extending their lead. Robbinsville struggled to score consistently while Murphy was slowly increasing their lead. The Lady Bulldog lead was up to 14 points going into the fourth quarter, but the Robbinsville offense came alive. The Lady Knights scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, almost matching their entire scoring total from the previous three quarters. They put a real scare into Murphy, getting the game down to just six points. Murphy was able to hit enough free throws down the stretch, though, to hang on to their lead to win 56-49.
Kensley Phillips sets up her defender with a dribble move.
Robbinsville Leading Scorers:
Zoie Shuler 16 points
Desta Trammell 16 points
Notes:
- Desta Trammell’s 11 fourth-quarter points were the driving force in the comeback effort.
- Robbinsville will find out later this afternoon who their playoff matchup will be when the NCHSAA publishes the playoff brackets.
- The Lady Knights should have a first-round home playoff game and be somewhere around a 13/14 seed or so.
Robbinsville will next play tentatively on Tuesday, February 22nd, in the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs. Coaches from both teams can always agree to play the game a day earlier, which has been done in the past. Stay tuned to the TeamFYNSports Twitter and Facebook pages, as we will have all the playoff updates and schedules and times as soon as we find out from the state and local teams.
Lady Knights Win, while the Boys Team Comes Up Just Short
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports December 11, 2021
The Robbinsville boys and girls basketball teams are finally off and running now that the football season has come to an end. On Friday night they played their second game of the year and this time against pretty good competition. They hosted a 3A opponent, the Smoky Mountain Mustangs. The girls game looked like it was going to be very competitive. It was the Lady Knights though that dominated, winning 56-38. While in the boys game, Robbinsville’s big fourth quarter comeback came up a little short losing 70-64
Girls Recap:
The Robbinsville girls team is supposed to be all that and a bag of chips this year. Well early this season they are living up to the high expectations. Smoky Mountain is a very strong girls team, in fact they beat Swain this year by 33. That margin had us expecting this to be a very tight game. It simply was not though as the Lady Knights were in control, building their lead quarter by quarter. In fact, Robbinsville outscored Smoky Mountain in each of the four quarters. By the time the fourth quarter started the Lady Knights were leading by 16 points. Desta Trammell looked to be in mid-season form, leading Robbinsville in scoring with 24 points. Yeika Jimenez also chipped in 10 points as part of the Lady Knights’ 56 to 38 win.
Boys Recap:
You can tell that the Black Knights boys team is still working through some early season rust that is to be expected after a long football playoff run. This showed as the shots just weren’t falling and the Mustangs took advantage throughout the first three quarters. Coming into the fourth quarter it looked like the Mustangs would cruise to victory up 18. That was not the case though as the Black Knights had a furious comeback. Xander Wachacha led the way with 20 points in the game and Kamdyn Jordan wasn’t far behind with 15 points of his own. The Mustang lead was just too much, even with Robbinsville outscoring them by 12 in the fourth quarter. Smoky Mountain would win 70-64 but with the late game run the Black Knights showed plenty of promise.