Charles City rallies in fourth quarter, saddles Chincoteague with loss in regional playoffs

Charles City's Madison Bradby (3) frustrates Chincoteague's Naomi Sterling with some defensive pressure.

Andre' Jones photo

Some people would say that Charles City fielding a girls’ varsity basketball team for the first time in five years was a win. Some say that Charles City winning 10 games was a victory for the program. Others comment that getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 was a reason to celebrate.

But for the Charles City Lady Panthers, their goals were a lot higher, and they started Monday night.

Rallying from a seven-point deficit, the sixth-seeded Charles City Lady Panthers rallied to defeat the hosting third-seeded Chincoteague Lady Ponies in the quarterfinals of the Group 1A Region A playoffs.

Early in the contest, both teams attempted to feel each other out. Charles City’s Teonna Bey opened the scoring with a lay-up, but from there, Chincoteague embarked on an 8-2 run to close the quarter and hold a slight lead (8-4) over the visitors.

In the second quarter, the Lady Ponies began to utilize their best asset in 6’1” center Caitlyn McPherson. McPherson scored seven in a row for the hosts to keep the hoe team up on the Lady Panthers. It wouldn’t be until McPherson was saddled with her third foul of the first half that provided a break for the Lady Panthers. By the time halftime intermission hit, Charles City trailed 21-14.

Nyla Brown’s corner three-pointer started the scoring for Charles City in the third quarter. But from there, both teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth for the remainder of the frame, with Chincoteague leading 29-25.

Charles City trailed 31-25 early in the fourth quarter when the Lady Panthers’ began to find synchronicity on the court. Free throws by Teonna Bey and Jaela Smith cut the lead down to two. That lead was wiped away after Smith sank two additional free throws to tie the game at 31 apiece with just over six minutes remaining. Charles City regained the lead a minute later after Sha’Ryan Paige’s steal lead to a lay-up by Smith. Brown’s free throws pushed Charles City’s margin up to four.

Chincoteague responded with Naomi Sterling’s lay-up and a pair of McPherson free throws to tie the game at 35, but an assist from Brown to Paige put the lead back in the visitors’ hands.

After a Charles City free throw bumped the lead back up to three (38-35), Sterling sank the first of two free throws for the hosts. After her second one missed, McPherson grabbed the rebound and put it back in, tying the game at 38 apiece with just over a minute remaining.

After an errant whistle halted play, Charles City was in possession. A lob pass from Smith to Bryana Lewis saw the latter deliver a bounce pass to a cutting Smith, who found her way to the basket for an easy lay-up to bestow a 40-38 lead to the visitors. Charles City would steal the next pass, with Brown going to the line and sinking one of two free throws to push the Lady Panther lead to three with 12 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing inbound, Chincoteague’s Sterling was found wide open in front of her team’s bench. Sterling launched the shot, sinking it. However, Sterling’s foot was on the line, ruling it a two-pointer and keeping Charles City in front. Chincoteague was forced to foul, sending Brown to the free throw line with two ticks on the clock. Brown sank both free throws to return the three-point lead to the Lady Panthers. A desperate heave downcourt by the Lady Ponies was deflected out of bounds, with time expiring and giving Charles City the win.

After the game, Charles City Lady Panthers Head Coach Julio Garcia spoke about how his team locked down in the fourth quarter and their ability to come together.

“Tonight’s game was just them desiring and wanting to win,” said the victorious head coach. “I think at halftime when we were down, they were frustrated because they knew they could play better.

“I think the moment hit them when they started to understand their roles,” Garcia continued. “Not everybody has to score for us to win. Getting rebounds, playing defense, making the right pass, those are the things that led us to victory tonight. And while they may not show up in the stat column, the win showed up on the scoreboard.”

Brown and Smith both scored 16 points to lead the Lady Panthers. Bey contributed nine, and Paige chipped in with two.