Lady Trojans just miss major upset opportunity

New Kent's Haley Hyndshaw works to avoid the steal attempt by Grafton's Nyah Chisholm.

Alan Chamberlain photo

By winning their season opener back in December, New Kent’s Lady Trojans ended a 50-game basketball losing streak. Since then, the team has notched three more victories. Now comes the next step in program rebuilding which entails beating a quality opponent.

Thursday night, the Lady Trojans nearly pulled off that major upset at the expense of Grafton’s visiting Clippers, one of the area’s upper echelon teams. The Clippers, however, used an aggressive full court press to overtake New Kent in the final quarter and post a 56-48 victory.

“We fought the entire time, and I’m proud of the girls for doing that,” said Lady Trojan coach Neko Burson. “[Grafton] is the number one team in Bay Rivers, and we took them down to the wire. I’m proud of that, but you can’t be content just to be close.”

New Kent made a statement right from the start. Kayla Tirado’s basket off a Peyton Slater assist followed by a Kelsey Yates three opened a 5-0 lead in the first minute. Then at the defensive end, the hosts employed a box-and-one with Tirado shadowing Clipper star Haley Cunningham.

“[Cunningham] still scored a little more than I wanted,” Burson said. “But any time you can slow them down and get inside her head and get her frustrated, that’s just a step away from stopping them.”

The ploy worked. Cunningham scored only eight first half points, and the Clippers were noticeably out of their comfort zone.

As the half wound down, the Lady Trojans embarked on a 7-0 run. Jada Hooker’s trey overcame a one-point Clipper lead. Brynne Jones added a basket on a Yates assist just before Tirado’s steal and pull-up jumper fell at the buzzer. New Kent’s 22-16 halftime lead marked a vast departure from the teams’ earlier meeting at Grafton where the Clippers owned a 40-15 lead at intermission.

Slater, who did not score before the break, poured in 15 second half points. Her trey to open the third quarter handed New Kent its largest lead at nine (25-16).

Grafton crept back within four midway through the third period, but Slater sank three of four free throws over a six-second span and added a baseline shot with just over three minutes left to rebuild the nine-point spread (33-24).

The Clippers, however, unleashed their full court press, and New Kent didn’t have the ball handlers to respond. Eight turnovers helped the visitors close the gap to one before Jones finished the quarter with a basket in the paint to put New Kent up 35-32 heading into the final period.

Grafton quickly moved back in front, but Slater buried her third trey on the night for a 39-37 New Kent lead. The Clippers responded with an 8-0 run, including six points off turnovers to regain the lead for good.

New Kent, though, refused to fold. Down by seven with 2:25 left, the hosts rallied behind back-to-back Yates baskets to make the contest a one possession game (51-48) with 1:36 to play.

Seconds later, Grafton’s Nyah Chisholm stepped to the line for a double bonus, missing both, but Cunningham stole the rebound and got fouled in the act of shooting. She sank both free throws to help seal the win.

“We were gassing out and [Cunningham] started stepping up,” Burson said. “With fresh legs, she was able to get steals and rebounds and was all over the place.”

She also scored 21 second half points, combining with Chisholm to account for all but two of the Clippers’ 24 fourth quarter points.

Slater’s 15 points led New Kent, now 4-10. Yates finished with 11 while Hooker tossed in nine, Tirado added eight, and Jones chipped in five.