New Kent benefits from Tabb’s free throw woes, advances to regional semifinals

New Kent’s Alivia Snow (11) locks down on defense late in the game against a Tabb player.

New Kent’s Lady Trojans knew the visiting Tabb Lady Tigers would not let a win come easy during the Feb. 24 Region 3A quarterfinal contest. But it was the woes of the visitors that allowed New Kent to advance to the next round.

Capitalizing off free throw woes by Tabb, New Kent defeated Tabb 45-36 to advance to the regional semifinals.

New Kent led 15-7 after the first quarter thanks to the shooting of Delaney Montgomery and Anna Hetzel. The lead remained eight at the break, mostly due to Vyktorya Otey’s eight points in the second quarter to keep New Kent ahead of Tabb 27-19.

In the third quarter, Montgomery got hot, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points and providing the hosts a dozen point advantage (38-26) as the teams transitioned into the fourth. But as the quarter changed hands, so did the momentum of the game.

New Kent’s offense went stone cold as they could not find the bottom of the basket. Meanwhile, their defense committed several errors, fouling Tabb and sending them to the line. The hosts had seen their lead sliced in half, as the Lady Tigers trailed by six (41-35) with 3:01 remaining on the clock after a Gabby Eaton free throw.

But the woes at the free throw line soon hindered Tabb more than help them. With an opportunity to tie or even take the lead, the Lady Tigers clanked six consecutive free throws. Lakelyn Bagheri’s free throw cut New Kent’s lead to five, but with 1:38 to go, Lady Trojan Brookly Fleischman’s up-and-under basket snapped the scoring drought from the hosts. A pair of Montgomery free throws sealed the victory for the hosts.

Montgomery and Otey finished in double figures for New Kent with 15 and 12, respectively. Hetzel tossed in seven, Fleischman and Alivia Snow each added four, and Aubrey Loucks contributed three.