West Point pressure too much for Lady Panthers to handle

Charles City's Marisa Greenhow (left) reaches around to strip the ball from West Point's Kathryn Crowe.

Andre' Jones photo

The struggles for Charles City’s Lady Panthers continue to mount in the 2018-19 season with the latest downfall being Friday night against the visiting West Point Lady Pointers.

West Point rushed out to a 14-0 lead within the first three minutes of the contest and cruised to a 66-24 blowout win over the Lady Panthers.

Lady Pointer Amber Lee scored six of her team’s 14 points in the opening moments as West Point utilized a 3-1-1 press to force Charles City into turnovers. It wasn’t until Marisa Greenhow’s three-pointer at the 4:22 mark remaining when the Lady Panthers would crack the scoreboard. But the visitors put together an 11-3 run to close the stanza and hold a 25-6 lead at the end of the first.

Keyaira Braxton’s free throw provided the visitors with a 20-point lead early in the second quarter. Charles City failed to muster a field goal until Skye Bradby’s three-pointer near the end of the half. But by that time, the Lady Panthers found themselves with a 39-13 halftime deficit that only grew for the remainder of the contest.

Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey spoke about the breakdowns from all facets of the contest.

“We had undisciplined defense, gave up too many second chance opportunities, and we lacked aggression tonight,” said the frustrated head coach. “Right not it seems like the other teams want it more.

“We should be playing better than what we are right now,” Otey added. “We got to believe in what we can do and go out to do it. I still have confidence that once we get on the same page, we can get the job done.”

Bradby’s eight points led the Lady Panthers, who are still searching for their first win as they hold an 0-10 record. Greenhow and Alexis Williams both scored six, while the duo of Jaelah Wyatt and Cheyanne Marshall chipped in two apiece.

Braxton’s posted 17 points to lead all scorers in the game.