Lady Panthers overcome sluggish start, top King & Queen 46-38 in Conference 42 playoffs

By Andre Jones | February 24, 2015 11:47 pm

Charles City's Adrienne Miles (21) powers through contact from King & Queen's Akasha Harris (32) on her way for a score.

Andre' Jones photo

While most would consider “slow sledding” to be a horrible pun after eight inches of snowfall, it was just that for the Charles City Lady Panthers in a Conference 42 first round contest against the visiting King & Queen Lady Tigers.

Despite a sluggish start, Charles City used pressure tactics to upend the visiting Lady Tigers 46-38 during the Feb. 24 contest to advance to the Conference 42 semifinals.

Despite neither team having a lot of practices due to the inclement weather, the visitors controlled early tempo. Destiny Davis’ four points followed by a basket from twin sister Alys Davis’ and a three-pointer from Akasha Hence launched a 9-2 run for the Lady Tigers. King & Queen held an 11-8 first quarter lead, something that Charles City didn’t face in the two teams’ previous meeting two weeks earlier, resulting in a 53-32 Lady Panther win.

“King & Queen came to play tonight,” said Lady Panther head coach Vashaun Otey. “I knew we had to pick up the intensity in the second quarter.”

And that’s what the hosts did. Senior guard Hailey Holmes scored off assists from classmates Adrienne Miles and Taylor Bradby to give the hosts a 14-13 lead midway through quarter number two. Miles and Holmes then strung together a 13-4 run, culminating in a Miles’ three-pointer that tallied her 1,000 career point with 8.4 seconds remaining until halftime. But King & Queen remained unfazed by the celebration, as they added three quick points before the break to cut the deficit to seven (27-20).

Charles City gradually began to pull away, as Holmes’ trifecta with 2:12 showing on the clock in the third quarter handed the hosts their first double-digit lead (37-25). That margin held steady for the remainder of the contest, as the hosts advanced with the win to meet Middlesex in the semifinal matchup.

Otey said the weather played a vital role in his team’s early actions in the game.

“You could tell we had dead legs because of the lack of practice,” the coach commented. “I think we finally got comfortable and back in rhythm towards the end of the second and in the third quarter.

“I’m glad we responded the way we did,” Otey continued. “It was key that we played well defensively early on.”

Miles and Holmes scored 22 and 19, respectively, to lead Charles City (12-9) in scoring. Kiandra Randall added four points and Meryah Bates chipped in one for the victors. King and Queen’s Trenisha Morris scored 11 points for the visitors.