Lancaster builds big lead as Lady Panthers drop contest

Charles City’s Alexis Williams (left) tries to get a good look at the basket against Lancaster’s Shaniyah Thompson.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers found some offensive continuity in the second half of a Dec. 7 matchup against the visiting Lancaster Lady Red Devils. But by the time things started to click for the hosts, Lancaster had easily distanced themselves in the contest.

The Lady Red Devils started the contest with 22 unanswered points as they cruised to a 65-28 victory over Charles City.

Problems from the opening tip were eminent, as the Lady Panthers faced a triple whammy by being undersized, inexperienced, and young. Then there was Lady Red Devil Skylar Sawyer, who scored 12 of her team’s first 17 points with easy lay-ups. By the time Charles City’s Jaelah Wyatt free throw dropped through the net with 40.6 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Charles City trailed 22-1. Wyatt converted a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, knotting the Lady Panthers first field goal as they trailed 22-4 heading into the next frame.

With Charles City only converting two free throws in quarter two and trailing 36-6 at the halftime break, head coach Antoine King employed his team to be more aggressive in the contest. The encouragement worked early after intermission, as Wyatt converted a lay-in and followed it up with a three-pointer to slice into the lead. After Lancaster recovered, a free throw each by Lady Panthers Tessa Yong and Alexis Williams sandwiched a Skye Bradby jumper, allowing the hosts to outscore the Lady Red Devils 9-6 in the third quarter.

The momentum carried into the final frame, as lay-ins by Bradby, Young, and Williams forced the visitors to call a time out, despite being up 44-21. With Sawyer reentering the contest, she would orchestrate seven of the next 11 points for the Lady Red Devils to squash momentum for the hosts and lift Lancaster to a win.

After the contest, King said the chemistry of his team needs to grow in order to become successful.

“We are starting to learn each other and what we do,” he said after the contest. “It’s hard to do that when we are hitting stretches of back-to-back games and not getting enough practice time in.”

The head coach is also looking for some leadership from three returning starters in Wyatt, Bradby, and forward Kailin Holland.

“I need them to be aggressive from the onset,” King continued. “I think Jaelah [Wyatt] did good to bring the spark and energy that the team needed, but now others need to match it.”

Charles City (0-4) received a team-high nine points from Wyatt. Williams and Bradby both scored eight, while Young finished with three.

Undefeated Lancaster (5-0) received a game-high 25 points from Sawyer.