First quarter form deserts New Kent, Bruton owns second half for 44-22 win

By Alan Chamberlain | January 17, 2017 9:44 pm

Bruton's Makayla Johnson loses the ball as she tries to penetrate past New Kent defenders (from left) Sierra Locklear, Jada Hooker, and Haley Hyndshaw.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Frequent turnovers helped account for a low scoring first half that saw Bruton’s Panthers hold a 14-13 lead over New Kent’s host Lady Trojans at the break. Unfortunately for the hosts, they suffered through another half of meager point production. The Panthers, however, did not.

Bruton outscored New Kent 30-9 in the second half on the way to a 44-22 win. Tuesday night’s outcome dropped the Lady Trojans to 4-9.

Connecting on five of nine first quarter shots from the floor, New Kent appeared firmly in control with a 10-3 lead midway through the first half. Bruton, meanwhile, missed nine of 10 field goal tries, but nine first quarter Lady Trojan turnovers prevented the hosts from building a wider advantage.

And turnovers continued to plague the Lady Trojans heading toward halftime. At the same time, their hot shooting hand disappeared. Bruton, which endured a nine-minute first half span with no field goals, took advantage of 11 New Kent miscues to gradually overtake their hosts.

“That’s the story of giving the game away,” said Lady Trojan coach Neko Burson afterward. “We turn the ball over and the other team capitalizes on it. That will put us in a hole, and it definitely did tonight.”

Thanks to turnovers, New Kent launched only six shots from the floor in the second quarter. The hosts missed the first five before Haley Hyndshaw’s corner three averted a shutout.

Hyndshaw’s trey came with 17 seconds left in the half, putting New Kent back in front 13-12. But as the final seconds ticked away, Bruton’s Julicia Ferguson banked in a lay-up to give her team the lead for good.

Third quarter action produced more of the same — turnovers and missed shots — for New Kent. Just short of the period’s midpoint, the Panthers moved ahead by 10 (25-15). By quarter’s end, they had doubled the score (34-17).

“You’ve got to score to set up your defense,” Burson said. “The speed of [Bruton] didn’t allow us to get solid looks [at the basket].”

Hyndshaw led New Kent in scoring with six points. Kayla Tirado and Kelsey Yates scored four apiece, Peyton Slater and Brynne Jones each accounted for three, and Jada Hooker added two.