King William keeps undefeated record intact with triumph over Lady Panthers

Charles City's Anija Brown (right) flies in during a rebound battle against King William defenders.

Robb Johnson photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers continue to work on their rebuild into a prominent program. With that rebuild comes bumps in the road. A Jan. 31 contest between the undefeated King William Lady Cavaliers was one such obstruction.

King William jumped out early and cruised to a 69-24 over Charles City in the Tidewater District matchup.

Charles City struggled on both ends of the court, as the Lady Cavaliers bolted to a 35-9 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a full-court press. In the second, Charles City’s Milla Mantell banked home a shot, followed by teammate Skye Bradby’s score to send the hosts with a little momentum into the halftime break despite trailing 39-13.

But the visitors quickly stole that momentum away. The biggest factor of King Williams’ 16-2 second half opening run came courtesy of Allie Peterson, whose distinct height advantage towered over every Lady Panther. King William cruised the remainder of the way to notch the victory.

After the game, Lady Panther head coach pointed to positives in the game despite being outmatched by a team much bigger than them.

“We knew what we were getting ourselves into with this team being 17-0,” she said. “We knew we were going to have to put up a dog fight.

“I felt like we improved on the rebounding aspect which we struggled with all season,” Holmes added. “The biggest thing for me is wanting to compete and I feel like that’s how we get better. Overall, I’m happy with the way they competed tonight.”

Alexis Williams’ 17 points were the high for Charles City, who fell to 4-16 on the year. Bradby tossed in four, Mantell added two, and Anija Brown chipped in with one.