In return to floor, Charles City Lady Panthers dominate ARGS

Charles City’s Madison Bradby (3) snatches a rebound from the hands of Appomattox Regional Governor School’s Maddie Riggs.

Robb Johnson photo

The last time Charles City Lady Panthers fielded a varsity basketball team was the 2019-2020 season. For the last four years, the program has worked on rebuilding and providing a foundation for structure. Monday night’s return for the Lady Panthers marked not only a win on the court for the program, but a win on the scoreboard.

Jumping out to an early lead and using man-to-man pressure to force turnovers, Charles City defeated the visiting Appomattox Regional Governor’s School (ARGS) Lady Dragons 50-20 to kickoff the season.

Kaylee Stewart’s wing three-pointer accounted for the first points of the game for the hosts. After ARGS cut the lead down to half (8-4), Lady Panther Jaela Smith banked a three-pointer off the glass to up the advantage to 11-4 by the end of the first quarter. In the second frame, Charles City slowly began to edge the Lady Panthers as they had built their lead to double digits (24-14) by halftime.

In the third quarter, Charles City ramped up its defense, forcing several steals and leading to lay-ups. Outside trifectas from Smith and teammate Nyla Brown helped the hosts stretch the advantage out in the second half. A running clock initiated in the fourth quarter as the Lady Panthers emerged victorious.

After the contest, first-year Charles City Lady Panthers Head Coach Julio Garcia spoke about the win.

“It was a good effort for us,” he commented. “We have a very young roster, so it is going to take some time.

“Right now, we are still working on the basics,” Garcia continued. “But overall, we did a good job tonight and I’m proud of them.”

Charles City (1-0) received a game-high 16 points from Smith, while Brown finished with 11. Stewart added nine, Teonna Bey contributed eight, Bryana Lewis tossed in four, and Sha’Ryan Paige chipped in with two.