Lady Trojan second half rally comes up short, Smithfield prevails 45-34

Lady Trojans Kelsey Yates (left) and Brynne Jones trap Smithfield's Tyla Hill after the Packer player grabbed a rebound.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Plagued by Smithfield’s trapping zone press, New Kent’s host Lady Trojans gave up double their points scored in the first half, falling behind 28-14 before heading to the locker room for a much-needed break.

When play resumed, the hosts turned the tables on their guests, unleashing a press to get back in the game and draw within a three-point field goal heading into the final quarter. The Packers, however, managed to salvage the lead on the way to escaping with a 45-34 win in Thursday night’s basketball clash.

“Sometimes you need to light a little bit of a fire,” Lady Trojan coach Neko Burson said, recalling the conversation at halftime. “I expect a whole lot, and we started this season saying we were going to fight in every game, but we were not getting that fight in the first half.

“Girls get really eager and tend to hold on to the ball too long,” he said. “You need to swing it and make gaps closer, but holding on to it leads to nothing but trouble. Passing the ball will break a press a whole lot easier than dribbling.”

New Kent’s pressure kept the Packers off-balance in the third quarter, limiting the guests to a lone field goal and helping the offense gradually whittle away at the Packer lead. Lady Trojan Haley Hyndshaw scored five of her team-high 11 points late in the period to pull the hosts within three at 30-27 with one quarter to go.

The third quarter fire, however, did not carry over to the final period. Over almost a four-minute span, New Kent sank just one of five shots from the floor while turning the ball over four times.

Smithfield sank three of four free throws to up their advantage to 33-27. Peyton Slater answered with a field goal for the hosts, but the Packers scored the next five points to lead 38-29. New Kent never got closer than six the rest of the way.

“We hit a couple of shots and got our confidence up,” Burson said. “But in the past these girls have not been in games like this so we’re still adjusting to being in close games.”

Brynne Jones tossed in nine points for the hosts, now 2-5. Slater, Kelsey Yates, and Kayla Tirrado each scored four while Sierra Locklear contributed two.