Lady Trojans just miss major upset opportunity

By winning their season opener back in December, New Kent’s Lady Trojans ended a 50-game basketball losing streak. Since then, the team has notched three more victories. Now comes the next step in program rebuilding which entails beating a quality opponent. Thursday night, the Lady Trojans nearly pulled off that major upset at the expense of Grafton’s visiting Clippers, one of the area’s upper echelon teams. The Clippers, however, used an aggressive full court press to overtake New Kent in the final quarter and post a 56-48 victory. “We fought the entire time, and I’m proud of the girls for…
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Lady Panthers early lead, win opportunity fades against King William

Charles City’s Lady Panthers held lightning in a bottle early on in a Jan. 18 clash against the invading King William Lady Cavaliers by jumping out to an early 8-0 lead. But as the saying goes, lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place and the hosts ended up reeling in shock. The Lady Cavaliers responded with a 19-2 run to close out the first quarter and withstood a mild Charles City second half rally en route to a 72-52 victory. Out the gate, Lady Panther leading scorer Santaesha Hickman orchestrated the offense. An early lay-in coupled with an assist…
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First quarter form deserts New Kent, Bruton owns second half for 44-22 win

Frequent turnovers helped account for a low scoring first half that saw Bruton’s Panthers hold a 14-13 lead over New Kent’s host Lady Trojans at the break. Unfortunately for the hosts, they suffered through another half of meager point production. The Panthers, however, did not. Bruton outscored New Kent 30-9 in the second half on the way to a 44-22 win. Tuesday night’s outcome dropped the Lady Trojans to 4-9. Connecting on five of nine first quarter shots from the floor, New Kent appeared firmly in control with a 10-3 lead midway through the first half. Bruton, meanwhile, missed nine…
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New Kent overcomes early hangover to keep Charles City winless

After Charles City and New Kent suffered setbacks the previous evening before their Saturday night rivalry clash, coaches expressed how numbers and tired legs could have an impact on the pace of the game. In the early going, it showed. But the host Trojans overcame a sluggish start and used the scoring of Kyle Claytor and Ryan Curle during a third quarter run to overpower the visiting Panthers 79-31, sweeping the season series. Charles City had an opportunity to go ahead before the tip-off, as New Kent received a pregame technical foul for grasping the rim. Instead, the Panthers clanked…
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Claytor eclipses 1,000 points

First win remains elusive as Charles City drops close contest at West Point

In a battle of teams searching for win number one on the season, Charles City had several opportunities to snap a losing skid dating back to January 23, 2015. But the visiting Panthers squandered several chances down the stretch against the host West Point Pointers. West Point orchestrated just enough offense to outlast Charles City 44-40 in Friday night’s matchup, sending the host Pointers to their first win and extending Charles City’s drought to 43 consecutive losses. Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth contest for one and a half quarters before West Point garnered some breathing room on the scoreboard….
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New Kent free throw misses in regulation prove costly, Tabb prevails 71-69 in overtime

Trailing by a single point with only :3.2 seconds showing on the clock, New Kent’s Trojans received a gift from Tabb’s visiting Tigers — five free throws resulting from a personal foul on the three-point shot attempt and subsequent technical foul. Sink one, and the contest is tied 57-57. Convert two, and New Kent is back in front. And if three, four, or all five fall, the game is in the bag. Thanks to the technical, New Kent would own the ball out of bounds with an opportunity to run out the clock. Chalk up another win while avenging an…
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Struggles continue as Lady Panthers drop contest at West Point

In December, Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey commented that he expects his team to improve throughout the season. However, the promise expected from the Charles City coach has yet to flourish, with Friday night’s visit to West Point being the latest setback. The host Pointers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and went unchallenged for the remainder of the contest as they toppled the visiting Lady Panthers 61-22 in the Tidewater District clash. The visitors gained an early advantage in the contest, as Jaelah Wyatt knocked down a jumper on the first shot. However, a…
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Intense Trojans race away from York for 88-42 triumph

Less than five minutes into their basketball encounter with York’s Falcons, New Kent’s host Trojans owned a 10-point lead. That margin held up through the first quarter, and from there, the hosts pulled away for an easy 88-42 victory. Thursday night’s win upped the Trojans’ record to 7-5 and placed an exclamation point of the first of three consecutive home games on successive nights, thanks to last weekend’s snowstorm that moved the York contest back a day. The Trojans entertain Tabb on Friday and welcome neighborhood rival Charles City on Saturday. “Coming back from these snow breaks, I’m concerned because…
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Trojans struggle after first quarter, fall 77-69 to Lafayette

Lafayette’s Rams broke open a close contest behind 65 percent shooting from the floor in the third quarter on the way to upending New Kent’s host Trojans 77-69 in Friday night basketball. The Trojans allowed a first quarter lead to slip away, settling for a 29-29 tie at halftime. Lafayette then quickly broke the deadlock off a pair of steals to start the third quarter, and the Trojans could never recover. “We never really could get over the top,” said Trojan coach Ronnie Cox. “We’d scratch and claw our way back, but we weren’t really able to close the deal.”…
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