Rappahannock’s pressure, Epps, puts blemish on Lady Panthers’ record

Charles City's Adrienne Miles (21) tries to impede the progress of Rappahannock's Selene Epps as teammate Taylor Bradby (5) slides in to offer a defensive assist.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers saw too much of Rappahannock forward Selene Epps.

Way too much.

Epps scored a game high 30 points and hauled in 22 rebounds as the visiting Lady Raiders cruised to a 49-31 victory over the host Lady Panthers in a Dec. 10 non-district matchup.

After Lady Panther Kiandra Randall’s lay-up gave Charles City its only lead of the night at 2-0, Rappahannock strung together a 15-4 run to take control of the game in the first quarter.

A free throw from Lady Panther Sydney Richard at the 6:31 mark would close the gap to eight in the second quarter (17-9), but the nightmarish drought would ensue for the hosts.

Over the next four and half minutes, Charles City missed seven shots and turned the ball over four times, largely in part to extensive pressure from a 2-2-1 full-court trap employed by the visitors. Meanwhile, Epps would capitalize off assists from teammate Ashley Towles for easy baskets. And when Towles wasn’t dishing the ball, Epps grabbed offensive rebounds and finished at the hoop. Epps score eight points during a 10-2 run to close out the first half with the visitors on top 27-11.

With Charles City trailing by 17, seniors Adrienne Miles and Hailey Holmes pushed the Lady Panthers back into the game. Miles’ trifecta along with a long jumper cut the deficit to 12 (34-22). Holmes launched a three-pointer of her own that found the bottom of the net to cut the lead to single digits at 34-25.

But that momentum swing ended as Epps scored again on an offensive rebound, returning an 11-point lead to the visitors (36-25) to start the final frame. Six minutes of futile shooting followed for Charles City, as they mustered a single free throw during the scoring drought. Meanwhile, Rappahannock rattled off 11 points, with nine contributed by Epps to put the contest out of reach.

After the game, Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey commented on the execution coming into the contest.

“We came out too sluggish and underestimated them,” he said. “That team came to play tonight and they killed us on the boards.

“We have a lot of younger players in our interior and we are just inexperienced there,” he continued. “Rappahannock did a good job playing to their strengths.”

Otey also said he wants his younger players to shoot more, knowing his team will need the additional scoring in future contests.

“Right now, our younger players are indecisive when it comes to taking shots,” Otey commented. “They had open looks tonight but seemed too unsure if they should take it.

“I don’t have any problem with them shooting, but we have to take good shots and have a better shot selection overall,” he concluded.

Miles’ 15 points led the Lady Panthers (2-1), while Holmes scored eight. Taylor Bradby and Richard scored three, and Randall finished with two.