Bruton spoils New Kent’s home opener, 58-29

New Kent's Peyton Slater (10) struggles to regain control of the ball as Bruton's Naya Samuels reaches around for a steal attempt.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans outscored Bruton’s visiting Panthers 13-8 in the final quarter of Tuesday night’s basketball encounter. For Lady Trojan head coach Vann Baker, it was a “small victory” for her young team.

The first three quarters, however, belonged to the Panthers who left little doubt as to the outcome after one period. The 58-29 final ruined New Kent’s home opener and dropped the Lady Trojans to 0-4.

“You have to take victories when you get them, even if they’re small,” Baker said, noting that her team is young with no seniors in the starting lineup. And those players need more work on basics, she added.

“We’ve got to work on shooting,” she said. “We get open, but we can’t pull the trigger or we rush the shot.”

New Kent started off in positive fashion. Kayla Davis scored the game’s first points off a pass into the lane from Brynne Jones.

But the hosts never added to their total until Jones scored off a Peyton Slater assist with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. By then, the Panthers had reeled off 16 straight points. At halftime, the visitors were firmly in control 35-10.

Lady Trojan Kelsey Yates led all scorers with 14 points. Davis finished with nine followed by Jones with four and Slater and Samantha Graham with one each. Mykael Johnson’s 12 points topped Bruton.

Also on the positive side for her team, Baker said, “Last year compared to this year, I can use basketball terms and they immediately catch on.”