Balanced scoring, second half surge leads Lady Panthers to win column

When the 2023-24 season began, fans were just glad Charles City’s Lady Panthers were able to field a varsity team for the first time in five years. Now, it looks like the fans will get an extra bonus with a postseason appearance thanks to a Tuesday night performance by the Lady Panthers. Using a balanced offense and a strong second half, Charles City defeated the visiting West Point Lady Pointers 50-37 in the Tidewater District contest. Charles City jumped in front early in the game as Jaela Smith scored six first quarter points, leading to a 15-8 lead. But in…
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‘Youth Athlete of the Year’

New Kent can’t hold lead as Smithfield rallies in 70-66 win

Facing foul trouble from the onset of the contest along with struggles from key scorers, New Kent’s Trojans dropped a Friday night contest 70-66 to the visiting Smithfield Packers. Early in the contest, Will Ross’ three-pointer provided New Kent with an early advantage. However, Smithfield responded with a 10-2 run to double up the hosts on the scoreboard (14-7). Another Ross trifecta along with a Christian Joyner score cut the lead down to two (14-12). Afterwards, Trojan guard Marty Wray caught fire, draining two long-distance shots to lift the hosts to a 24-18 lead after the first quarter. After growing…
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District runners-up in gymnastics

Charles City’s offense fades away in second quarter, Middlesex rolls to 77-65 win

Continuing to play through injuries, Charles City’s Panthers came out on an offensive attack during Jan. 30 against the visiting Middlesex Chargers. And despite leading after one, the hot shooting failed to last for the remainder of the contest. Charles City’s Panthers fell 77-65 in the Tidewater District contest, marking their fourth consecutive loss. Teams exchanged baskets early on before Panther guard Jonlei Coles scored five consecutive points to provide the hosts a 21-16 lead. After Middlesex’s Ichi Layne countered with a pull-up jumper, teams exchanged baskets with Taylor Bey’s free throws for the Panthers extending the home team’s lead…
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Gold at York Grand Prix tournament

Tenth-ranked Yellow Jackets sting Charles City for fourth consecutive time

At the rate that the Charles City Panthers and Northampton Yellow Jackets play each other, they might as well be district opponents. Meeting for the fifth time in two years, it would be the fourth consecutive win Friday night for the visiting Yellow Jackets as they breezed by Charles City 75-44. Still playing with an undermanned roster, Charles City held their ground in the first quarter against the Class A tenth-ranked team. After Northampton jumped out to a 9-4 advantage, the senior backcourt duo of Jonlei Coles and Taylor Bey would cut that lead down to one. The duo kept…
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Charles City Lady Panthers use first quarter outburst to control game against Northampton

Charles City’s Lady Panthers returned to the win column following a big first quarter opening run Friday night against the visiting Northampton Lady Yellow Jackets. Charles City utilized a 13-1 run as they cruised to a 47-29 victory to improve to 7-10 on the season. The hosts had very few issues dealing with the Yellow Jackets, fighting off every attempted run. The Lady Panther lead grew to 34-23 in the fourth quarter when guard Jaela Smith pumped in six consecutive points on lay-ups, increasing the gap to put the game out of reach. After the game, Charles City Lady Panthers…
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Depleted roster forces Charles City into uphill battle against King William

With a depleted roster on hand and facing a King William Cavaliers’ team that was much better than their record showed, Charles City’s Panthers struggled on offense as they fell 79-57 in the Jan. 24 contest. Jalen Wimmer’s trifecta started the scoring for the visitors in the contest. Charles City responded as Taylor Bey scored the next four points. A technical foul assessed to the King William bench allowed Jonlei Coles to sink two free throws to spark a 7-0 run by the Panthers. King William responded with a 5-0 run before Jonlei Coles converted two baskets form the charity…
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King William uses strong second half to pull away from Lady Panthers

For one half, Charles City’s Lady Panthers played basket-to-basket with the top team in the Tidewater District. But a sluggish third quarter by the Lady Panthers ended up being the turning point of the contest. Behind 26 points from Daejah Robinson, King William’s Lady Cavaliers coasted to a 58-45 win over the Charles City Lady Panthers in the Jan. 24 match-up. Robinson contributed to most of the points in the opening frame for the visitors as she tossed in nine to guide King William to a 13-7 lead. Charles City’s Lady Panthers relied on the backcourt of Nyla Brown and…
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