Westmoreland uses experience, size to bounce Lady Panthers from playoffs

Charles City's Teonna Bey (10) and Sha'Ryan Paige (24) tangle with Westmoreland's Sydney Williams (2) in a battle for a rebound.

Robb Johnson photo

After taking down the third-seeded Chincoteague Lady Ponies, Charles City’s Lady Panthers headed into the Feb. 21 1A Region A Semifinal contest against the

Westmoreland Lady Eagles with a berth in the Group 1A State playoffs on the line. And while the effort by the visiting Lady Panthers was present, it was the experience from the hosting Lady Eagles that proved to be a difference maker.

Westmoreland used its size and experience advantage to defeat Charles City 61-42, ending the run for the Lady Panthers in the playoffs.

Westmoreland’s game plan was to take Charles City’s leading scorer Jaela Smith out of the equation. Meanwhile, Charles City had the same idea in trying to keep Lady Eagle Janaya Moore in check. And in the early moments, both teams seemed to have balanced each other out in the feeling out process.

The home court advantage and familiarity began to favor Westmoreland, as baskets started to fall for the Lady Eagles as part of a 12-2 run. Even when they weren’t falling for the hosts, Moore would clean up the rebound and finish on putbacks. That effort resulted in the hosts leading the Lady Panthers 19-4 after the first quarter of play.

Charles City’s best move of the night came in the beginning of the second quarter. Charles City utilized a faster pace, gassing the Lady Eagles out. Breaking the attempted press by the hosts, the Lady Panthers put together a 6-2 run thanks to a pair of baskets from Teonna Bey and a putback by Sha’Ryan Paige. Charles City trailed by 11 (21-10) with six minutes remaining until halftime.

But from that moment on, Westmoreland began dominating offensively and on the glass. Moore began to convert easier baskets, with teammates Sydney Williams and Laylah Clark converting on open jumpers as Lady Panthers collapsed on Moore in the paint. Westmoreland took a 37-15 lead into the break, with both teams playing on even terms in the second half as the Lady Eagles captured the victory.

After the contest, first year Lady Panthers Head Coach Julio Garcia recapped the season and hopes his team learns from the experiences of reaching postseason play.

“I am very proud of these girls,” he commented. “We have been through a lot of challenges this season, along with struggles at times. But we kept our heads up.

“These girls now know what it’s like to be in the playoffs,” Garcia added. “With that experience under their belt, we were resilient tonight, and we will be back.”

One of the benefits that will be a positive for Garcia in the future is that his team was relatively young. The Panthers graduate starting center Bryana Lewis and Tidewater District first team guard Nyla Brown. But they will return nine players, all who were either sophomores or freshmen this year, including Tidewater District first team selection Smith.

Teonna Bey’s 16 points led Charles City in the scoring column. Smith also finished in double figures with 10 points, Paige pumped in six, the duo of Madison Bradby and Bryana Lewis contributed four apiece, and Cheyenne Christian chipped in with two.

The Lady Panthers conclude their season with an 11-13 record.