Third quarter letdown prevents Lady Panthers from finding win column

By Andre Jones | January 19, 2018 8:21 pm

Charles City's Cheyanne Marshall (right) tangles with King & Queen's Minajadore Redd (left) in a rebound battle.

Andre' Jones photo

For one half, Charles City’s Lady Panthers seemed on the verge to crack the win column for the first time this season as they trailed by four emerging from the halftime intermission against the visiting King & Queen Lady Tigers.

But the combination of the visitors’ hot shooting, lack of team chemistry, and dismal performance at the free throw line factored in as King & Queen pulled away to a 49-37 victory over the Lady Panthers.

Charles City grabbed the lead from the opening tip, as sophomore Skye Bradby drained a corner three-pointer. That lead grew to five behind a free throw apiece from Jaelah Wyatt and Alexis Williams. Wyatt’s steal and lay-in at the end of the frame bestowed an 8-5 advantage over King & Queen.

The hosts’ advantage dwindled and came to an end in the opening moments of the second quarter after Lady Tiger Kayla Hill converted a close-range basket. Her subsequent free throw and lay-in gave the visitors a lead that they would never relinquish. Another Bradby three-pointer and Wyatt free throw closed the gap to one (14-13), but each team would exchange baskets and free throws for the remainder of the frame, with King & Queen emerging with a 22-18 advantage.

Back-to-back lay-ins by Charles City’s Tessa Young opened the scoring for the hosts and narrowed the Lady Tigers’ margin to a mere point (23-22). But Young’s free throw was sandwiched by three-pointers from King and Queen’s Ryana Garner. An intentional foul by Young at the 3:29 mark catapulted the visitors on a 14-1 run to close the third and provided a 17-point cushion for the Lady Tigers.

A steal and score by the visitors’ Angel Jackson garnered King & Queen’s largest lead of the night (43-24) before the Lady Panthers’ last attempt to fight back. Two young free throws plus her lay-in reduced the gap to 14. After King & Queen bumped the lead back to 18, a Wyatt free throw and Alexis Williams trifecta reduced the deficit once again. After another Wyatt close range bucket, Young’s follow-up off a teammate’s miss cut the deficit to 10 (47-37) with 1:31 to play.

But despite stops by the Lady Panthers’ defense, failing to convert at the free throw line most of the game (14-35) plagued the hosts. Meanwhile, King & Queen sealed the game as an Alexis Cotty breakaway basket concluded the scoring.

After the contest, Lady Panther head coach Antoine King talked about every possible tactic used to find some sort of chemistry for his team.

“We have to get a good practice in,” he said, referencing the lack of access to the gym due to recent school closures. “The girls have to get on the same page and need to listen.

“You have to have the right people in the game and they got to understand what fouls are,” King added, mentioning the high foul count his team accumulated in the contest. “We just have to understand how organized basketball is played.”

Charles City, who remains winless at 0-9, received a team-high 15 points from Young. Wyatt also finished in double figures with 10, while Williams and Bradby both contributed six each.

King & Queen (2-10) received a game-high 16 points from Jackson.