After snagging early advantage, New Kent Lady Trojans fall to unbeaten Grafton

New Kent’s Jaiden McCoy (14) snags a rebound in the early phases of the contest over Grafton’s Kiara Bomboy (23).

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans got a good look at one of the top teams in the Bay Rivers District on Dec. 16 when the visiting Grafton Lady Clippers entered with an undefeated record. That’s the way the guests exited the facility as well.

Grafton overcame a sluggish start before routing New Kent 56-32 to remain unblemished on the year.

Early on, the Lady Trojans’ defense stifled the opponents, keeping them scoreless. Meanwhile, Katelyn Norman’s three early points followed by teammate Jaiden McCoy’s score on a roll to the basket off a McKenna Mueller assist provided the hosts a 6-0 lead early on.

But that advantage would begin to fall by the wayside at the 3:30 mark of the opening stanza. Kiara Bomboy’s trifecta put the visitors on the board. After New Kent’s Jakeira Thomas scored on a lay-up, Grafton composed an 8-2 run to end the first quarter to get within one (11-10).

And then, Grafton’s defense woke from the depths as their pressure and defensive rebounding held New Kent to one point in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Grafton would use six first-half three-pointers as part of a massive 31-3 run that spanned the next two-and-a-half quarters to distance themselves from the Lady Trojans.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans Head Coach Neko Burson kept his comments simple and straight to the point.

“I do know that when we put forth effort, we slow teams down and get stops,” he said. “We got out to an early lead and then there was no effort, and you see what happens.

“It is kind of disheartening to see one or two threes go in and you kind of go away from what the game plan was,” Burson continued. “We are going to have to get over that. We are going to see a lot of teams with this similar style.”

Norman’s nine points led New Kent, whose record drops to 4-2 on the season. Hannah Drewer contributed seven, McCoy tossed in six, Mueller pumped in five, Darian Mason dropped in three, and Thomas chipped in with two.