Lady Panthers survive comeback scare to win third game of season
Colonial Beach’s McKenzie Quail (right) looks for a way to avoid constant defensive pressure from Charles City’s Nijah Johnson (left).Andre' Jones photo
When two rebuilding programs face each other on the hardwood, they rarely encounter situations that places them in unfamiliar territory. For Charles City’s Lady Panthers, junior guard Nijah Johnson’s only point of the night came at the right moment.
Johnson’s free throw at the front end of the bonus situation helped the Lady Panthers stave off Colonial Beach’s Lady Drifters 38-34 in Saturday night’s contest.
Both teams struggled early on, with the free throw line becoming the main adversary for each one. With Charles City’s three for 10 and Colonial Beach’s six for 18 in the first half, neither team could make a move in the contest in the first half that resulted in the halftime score knotted at 16 apiece.
In the third quarter, Charles City’s Skye Bradby became the offensive catalyst. Bradby drained back-to-back three pointers to provide the hosts a six-point lead (25-19). Even after Colonial Beach called a timeout, the junior guard converted a lay-in and followed it up with her third trifecta capping a personal 11-2 run and providing a 30-19 lead at the end of three.
But the winless Lady Drifters hunger to snap their losing streak begin to sink in. Trailing 35-24 with 4:09 to play, Colonial Beach’s Casey Royall begin to find success. As Charles City’s defense focused on Colonial Beach center Cynari Davis, Royall became the recipient of her teammate’s passes, scoring six of her team’s next eight points. Royall’s stole the next pass down the floor and scored while being fouled by Johnson, bringing the visitors to within one (35-34) as part of a 10-0 run within 90 seconds.
Royall’s free throw clanked off the right side and Charles City grabbed the rebound. On the next trip down, Lady Panther Alexis Williams followed a teammate’s miss to push the lead back up to three (37-34). Colonial Beach proceeded down the floor and a shot by Davis fell short and Charles City regained position. The Lady Drifters committed four fouls to position Charles City to be in the bonus situation. With the next foul resulting in free throws for the hosts, double teams were employed by Colonial Beach on Bradby and Williams, resulting in Johnson receiving the inbound pass and being fouled. Johnson approached the line and released her shot, watching it as it bounced on the back of the rim and back to the front of the rim, hanging there momentarily before dropping through the net to provide Charles City with a little extra cushion. Her second shot missed with Colonial Beach grabbing the rebound. However, the guests turned the ball over on the way dribbling down the court, resulting in the expiration of the clock and the hosts taking the victory.
After the contest, Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey said the situation with the big lead was unfamiliar and that he used it as a teaching moment.
“Tonight, it came down to listening and execution,” he said. “When we were up by double digits, we wanted to spread the floor to drive and make them play us man-to-man.
“But instead of being able to do that, we turned the ball on three straight possessions and the girls begin panicking,” Otey continued. “We didn’t do well at the free throw line but Alexis’ [Williams] putback and Nijah [Johnson’s] free throw was key tonight.”
While Charles City only sank five of 14 free throws, Colonial Beach had ample opportunities at the charity stripe. However, the visitors shot only 33 percent from the line, converting only seven free throws of 21 attempts.
Charles City (3-13) received a game-high 18 points from Williams, while Bradby was close behind with 16. Naveah Charity tossed in three and Johnson chipped in with one.
Colonial Beach’s Royall finished with 17 points to lead her team in scoring.