New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Charles City collapses in third quarter; Colonial Beach cashes in for victory

By Robb Johnson | December 6, 2019 11:40 pm

Charles City's Skye Bradby (3) snatches a rebound in front of Colonial Beach's Cora Bowler.

Robb Johnson photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers took hard hits from Colonial Beach’s Lady Drifters in the first two quarters of Friday night’s contest, withstanding the runs imposed by the visitors. But the knockout blow in the third frame proved to be too detrimental to answer.

Utilizing a 27-5 third quarter outburst along with four Lady Panthers fouling out the contest, Colonial Beach emerged as 67-33 victors over Charles City.

The Lady Drifters incorporated a 1-2-2 full-court press on the Lady Panthers, enabling them to jump out a 10-2 lead. But the experienced trio of Lady Panthers Skye Bradby, Alexis Williams, and Nijah Johnson strung together three buckets to tie the game at 10 apiece. But Colonial Beach responded, notching seven points in a row of their own to take a 17-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

But Charles City’s aggressiveness proved to benefit the hosts, as Williams went to the line on several occasions. Her free throws played vital in a 7-2 run that cut Colonial Beach’s lead down to a mere bucket (21-19). But the visitors refused to detract, putting together a 6-0 run to garner some distance.

But Charles City responded once again with Williams’ freebies. Another Lady Panther run saw the hosts take their first lead of the night at 28-27. Colonial Beach tied the game up on a free throw of their own, and a buzzer-beating three pointer by Lady Drifter Kennedy Muse from the corner was the difference in providing the guests a 31-28 break.

The intermission break did the exact opposite of what it was intended to do for the Lady Panthers. Instead of rejuvenating the squad, it resulted in a downward spiral that saw starting forward Milla Mantell and starting guard Janiya Washington head to the bench. Putbacks became common for Colonial Beach during the 27-5 third quarter thrashing. Meanwhile, the fourth quarter saw Johnson and Williams take seats on the bench due to fouling out, leaving the hosts to play with three players for the last four minutes of the contest.

Charles City head coach Hailey Holmes was not impressed with the attitude her team displayed in the contest.

“Our attitudes are getting the best of us and that’s why we are not scoring,” the frustrated coach said. “That’s why we are getting technical fouls. I am okay with fouling because we are still learning how to play defense, but the attitudes are just hurting our team.

“I also feel like the girls at the wing are trying to work and our girls at the post aren’t making themselves available,” Holmes continued, preaching that she would like to see a better effort. “The bottom line is the girls at the top are doing the work and the girls in the paint now are sleep.

“We need to continue to look up the floor, improve on basketball IQ, and learn how to shake our attitudes off,” she concluded.

Williams led Charles City (1-2) with 25 points. Bradby added four, while Johnson and Anija Brown chipped in with two apiece.

Colonial Beach’s Muse led all scorers in the game with 31 points.