Lady Trojans come up short in quest for first win

New Kent's Kelsey Yates drives past Jamestown's Jessica Mingo on the way to the basket in second half action.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans had a golden opportunity to erase the zero on the win side of their record Thursday night when they entertained Jamestown Eagles, a team that entered with one win as well as being bogged down in a nine-game losing streak. It didn’t happen.

Jamestown sank just three of 18 shots from the floor on the way to totaling only nine first quarter points. But the Lady Trojans fared even worse, scoring two points on one-for-eight shooting while turning the ball over 14 times.

The Eagles, behind Jamiyah Johnson’s 24 points, pulled away from there to a 53-30 triumph. New Kent fell to 0-13.

“They capitalized on our turnovers,” said Lady Trojan coach Vann Baker. “We didn’t adjust, we didn’t pass well or focus, and we didn’t play as a team.

“There’s a disconnect between what we do well in practice and what we do in a game,” she said. “We’ve just got to figure that out and be able to score.”

Sarah Major accounted for New Kent’s lone first quarter basket off a Brittany LaPrade assist after Jamestown had scored the game’s first five points. A Kelsey Yates free throw early in period two had New Kent within six at 9-3, but the Eagles countered with a 13-0 run to take command. On the bright side, the hosts outscored their guests 11-2 in the final quarter.

Brynne Jones led New Kent with 12 points, all in the second half. Tessa Gray scored four for the hosts followed by three each from LaPrade and Yates and two apiece from Major, Samantha Graham, Lindsey Reece, and Haley Grisbaum.

“We just had a discussion on how we want to end the year and what the focus will be,” Baker said after a post-game meeting with her team in the locker room.

“We’re committed to becoming better players,” she said. “It’s just that we have to connect all the dots.”