Smithfield pulls away late in fourth quarter to defeat Lady Trojans
New Kent's Alayna Loveland (right) and Smithfield's Rebekah Christian (left) play a game of tug-of-war with the basketball.Robb Johnson photo
When New Kent’s Lady Trojans are clicking on both sides of the ball, they can be a fun and dangerous team to watch. But when they struggle, it can be the antithesis of them being a contender and a pretender. Such was the case Tuesday night.
Smithfield’s Lady Packers used a physical style, grind-it-out game to defeat New Kent 36-29 in the Bay Rivers District affair.
In the first quarter, Lady Trojan Katelyn Norman’s lay-up gave the hosts their first lead of the night. But Smithfield’s Aja Walker sank a jumper at the buzzer that quickly returned the advantage to the visitors at the end of the frame (11-10).
The scoreboard seesawed in the second quarter, as New Kent’s Madison Foley drained a pair of trifectas to keep the hosts up by one. But Smithfield’s A’shana Parker countered with a long-distance connection of her own, once again giving the advantage to the visitors (17-16) and what subsequently would be the hosts last lead on the night.
New Kent managed to stay within striking distance for most of the game thanks to Smithfield’s horrific performance at the free throw line (3-15). Trailing by five in the fourth (27-22) thanks to Hailey Hyndshaw free throws, the hosts rallied enough and were able to cut the deficit to one (29-28) after a Norman free throw.
But that would be the closest the Lady Trojans would get for the remainder of the night. A Parker jumper that banked off the glass along with a three-pointer from the corner by Nikia Robertson quickly stretched Smithfield’s advantage. The Lady Packers held the hosts to a mere point the rest of the way to seal the win.
New Kent head coach Neko Burson tried to remain positive after the game, but admitted he was baffled by the abysmal performance.
“Coming out in the third quarter, we had a tough time getting shots to fall and we were trying to be aggressive,” he said. “It’s hard to preach aggressiveness when we had a couple of players in foul trouble.
“As we look to put some pressure on some players who can create for themselves, sometimes that can throw you off a little bit,” he continued. “We went into the fourth and were able to get some pressure back on them and that’s when things started to change. Overall, I have to stay on them about playing their game and not worrying about the fouls.”
New Kent’s (7-4) Norman was the only player to finish in double figures as she contributed 10 points. Hyndshaw pumped in seven, and the duo of Foley and Madison Lange each added six apiece.