New Kent squanders early lead, falls to Lafayette in overtime
New Kent's Haley Hyndshaw (left) drives to the hoop against Lafayette's Taylor Thomas.Robb Johnson photo
Trying to erase an unimpressive performance a few days earlier, New Kent’s Lady Trojans locked horns with the visiting Lafayette Lady Rams in a Dec. 14 matchup. And while the Lady Trojans played their hearts out, they would see an early advantage evaporate that allowed Lafayette to escape with a win in overtime.
New Kent fell 50-46 to the visiting Lady Rams in a back-and-forth affair that saw runs from both teams.
Early on, New Kent administered a strong defensive tactic to hold Lafayette without a field goal in the first half. Meanwhile, Lady Trojan Jada Hooker scored five of her team’s nine first quarter points to provide a seven-point cushion for the hosts.
The second quarter transition though belonged to Lafayette. The visitors opened with a 10-0 run, powered by seven points from freshman McKenna Eddings. However, New Kent rebounded to finish the quarter on a high note, taking a 24-21 advantage into halftime.
With the contest tied at 29 heading into the fourth quarter, both team only notched points from the free throw line until New Kent’s Haley Hyndshaw’s field goal with 6:30 on the clock to tie the game at 32. Lafayette regained the lead on a pair of Taylor Gubler free throws, but a Hooker to Hyndshaw pass on an inbound tied the game.
As time ticked down in the contest, New Kent’s Kayla Tirrado intercepted a pass off a Lafayette rebound. Tirrado sank an acrobatic shot and was fouled with 36 ticks remaining on the clock. Her free throw put New Kent up by two (41-39).
The Lady Rams rushed a shot on their next possession, watching it clank off the rim. However, a powerful offensive rebound by Taylor Thomas led to her being fouled on a putback attempt. Taylor sank both shots with eight seconds remaining. New Kent was unable to get off a shot in the remaining time and the game proceeded to overtime.
Two failed free throw attempts by the hosts resulted in Eddings converting a traditional three-point play on the offensive end for Lafayette to take the lead (44-41). Lafayette quickly tacked on another five points and seemed to be in full swing. The Lady Trojans fought back to get the contest within three with 20 seconds remaining, but a free throw by Lady Ram Olivia Stewart provided enough distance for the visitors to escape with a win.
Lady Trojan head coach Neko Burson talked about his team being too thrilled with an early advantage.
“We got a little excited after that first run we put together and we just didn’t execute after that point the way we needed to,” said the disappointed head coach. “We missed a lot of open shots and lay-ups and that has to be corrected.
“We have to move the ball better and cut down on turnovers,” Burson continued. “We have to work on our foot speed and stay in front of the player that we are guarding. As the season goes on, they will improve in that area, but we are not at that point yet.”
New Kent (2-5) received a team-high 16 from Hyndshaw while Hooker also finished in double figures with 10. Tirrado added seven points, Brynne Jones and Madison Foley tossed in five apiece, Peyton Slater added two, while Emma Bell chipped in with one.
Lafayette’s Eddings led the contest in scoring with 22 points.