Runs in the first, third quarter elevate Tabb to victory over Lady Trojans

New Kent’s Katelyn Norman (32) drives by Tabb defenders as she looks to break the Lady Trojans’ scoring drought in the first half.

Robb Johnson photo

After opening the season with two victories, New Kent’s Lady Trojans welcomed Bay Rivers District rival Tabb’s Lady Tigers on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the hosts, Tabb stomped out the pleasantries early on in the contest.

Fourteen unanswered points from the onset along with another surge in the third quarter was enough for Tabb to escape from New Kent with a 41-37 victory.

A lack of rhythm plus ill-advised turnovers plagued the hosts from the opening tip. The result was Tabb scoring the first 14 points of the contest, highlighted by three trifectas. It wasn’t until the 3:27 mark of the opening quarter when Campbell Proffitt’s free throw broke the scoring drought. However, New Kent found themselves behind by double figures at the end of one (16-6).

But the Lady Trojans’ aggressive and physical style turned into a motivating factor that rocked Tabb’s defense. Leading the way was Katelyn Norman, who powered her way into the hole and contributed eight of New Kent’s 20 points in the second quarter. Along with a pressure-filled defense, the Lady Trojans took the lead at the break by a mere bucket (26-24).

An early third quarter basket provided New Kent what would turn out to be their biggest lead of the night (28-24). But from there, that bucket would be the only one for hosts in the stanza, as Tabb found a solution to the physicality, reversing all momentum that New Kent had and emerging with an 11-0 run and a 35-28 lead heading into quarter number four.

New Kent’s defense held steadfast in the final frame, holding the guests to only six points. But on the offensive end, the Lady Trojans were marred by turnovers and inability to convert baskets. The end result was the home team’s first defeat of the season.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans Head Coach Neko Burson discussed his team’s efforts and what they could do better going forward.

“Anytime you string together turnovers rather than stops or buckets, it’s going to be tough,” he commented. “Fighting from behind is tough.

“We mad a run, took the lead, but then foul trouble hurt our lineups,” Burson continued. “They were able to break loose one more time and that [the loss] was the end result.”

Norman’s 19 points led New Kent, who falls to 2-1 on the season. Hannah Milby added five, Proffitt tossed in three, Kierstan Otey contributed two, and Alline Alexander chipped in with one.