Moss Point falls short of a state title, but Robyn Lee’s career is worth celebrating
As was the case for the Moss Point girls basketball team for much of the season, senior guard Robyn Lee did it all on Thursday in the Class 4A state championship.
This time, a big game from the Louisiana Tech signee wasn’t enough for the Lady Tigers.
Ripley (32-2) topped Moss Point 37-30 on Thursday in The Pavilion at Ole Miss despite Lee putting up game highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Lee scored all but six of Moss Point’s 30 points and had nine of the team’s 10 successful shots from the field.
She left it all on the court one last time, but a second-place trophy did little to soften the blow of the defeat.
“It was in our hands, but we let it slip through,” a dejected Lee said in a soft tone.
Moss Point coach Ethan Porter pointed to all the minor mistakes that his team committed on Thursday.
“Little things matter,” he said. “I told them it’s not about who makes bigger shots or bigger plays. It’s just the little things. I think we gave up five offensive rebounds off free throws in the second half. You give a good, veteran team that many opportunities, of course they’re going to find ways to beat you.”
Following a defensive struggle in the first half, Ripley led 11-10 entering halftime. In the second half, Moss Point (25-8) could never quite piece together a rally. Rivers Adams was the only Ripley player in double digits with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Robyn Lee leaves behind a legacy
Thursday’s contest marked the first time that the Moss Point girls basketball team has ever played in a state championship game.
Last season, the Lady Tigers reached the state semifinals for the first time.
As Lee prepares to take the next step to Division I hoops, it’s fair to say that she is the most consequential girls basketball player in the history of Moss Point High School.
“She set the bar the highest it could possibly be set,” Porter said. “We graduate three seniors so we’ve got three voids to fill and none bigger than Robyn Lee.”
As a senior, she averaged 19.8 points despite constantly facing double- and triple-teams when the ball was in her hands.
An early start at Moss Point
Lee’s father, Ruben I, is in the process of letting it sink in that his daughter has played her final high school game.
“Six years, man. She first played varsity in the seventh grade,” he said. “We’ve been doing this every single day for the last six years, and it all came down to this.”
Robyn took Thursday’s loss as hard as anybody, shedding tears on the court as she and her teammates waited for their second-place medals and trophy.
Asked if she can appreciate the fact that she’s made quite the impact at Moss Point, she found it hard to take any enjoyment out of the moment.
“A little bit, but we could have finished with a gold ball,” Robyn said.
Robyn’s father wished she could have seen the bigger picture as her high school career came to a close.
“I’m proud of the team, really proud of the city,” he said. “They showed love and support. It’s really made my heart feel real good. I still want them to hoist the trophy even though it’s second place.”
The Lee family isn’t done
Ruben Lee I has two other Moss Point athletes in the family — Tigers quarterback Ruben “Deuce” Lee II, who will graduate in 2021, and Raven Lee, who started at guard alongside her sister on Thursday and played all 32 minutes.
With Deuce leading the football team to a region championship in 2019 and the Lady Tigers rolling to the 4A title game behind the Lee sisters, the family has already made an impact at the high school with hopes of making more additions to the Moss Point trophy case.
“They used to come to games when they were real small, so small they had to sit in my lap to see,” said Ruben Lee I. “Ever since then, we said we were going to (play for titles). When they got to high school, we had so many losing seasons, I kind of backed off. I wasn’t really saying that. As time progressed, (Robyn) started coming into her own. The team surrounded her with positive support and the community got involved. (Porter) is a really great coach. I can’t believe he brought this group to the state championship. It’s amazing how hard he works.”
With title-game trip added to his sister’s list of accomplishments, Deuce has a challenge ahead in meeting that achievement. It’s not the first time that he has followed his sister’s lead, feeding off her work ethic along the way.
“Robyn is the leader. She kind of leads the charge in the house,” said Ruben Lee I. “(Robyn will say) ‘Y’all not going to do nothing because y’all are sitting over there playing video games.’ He’ll jump up and say, ‘She’s not going to outdo us.’ He’ll get his guys together and throw some routes, do extra workouts at the field house. They start bouncing off each other.”
“They do want to outdo each other and support each other at the same time. He finally has something over her. She started in seventh grade and he didn’t start until the ninth. She holds that over him. He’s going to tell her, ‘Congratulations,’ but when it dies down, he’s going to let her know, ‘I’m getting ready to get a ring.’ ”
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 9:36 PM.
