Lady Panthers secure first ever state tournament berth

Charles City’s Catherine Vinson (25) boxes out Surry County’s Marley Harrison as teammate Cheyenne Davis (14) looks to haul in the rebound.

Andre' Jones photo

Before taking the floor in the regional semi-finals, Charles City Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey laid it all out there for his team. You win, and you’re going to state. The response to the challenge was evident.

The Lady Panthers jumped out early and never trailed on their way to a 70-50 victory over Tri-Rivers District foe Surry in the semifinals of the Region A, Division 1 tournament on Feb. 21.

The win clinched the program’s first ever berth in the Group A state tournament.

Quickly out the gate, Lady Panther Jessica Hill set the tone, scoring the team’s first five points and helping the hosts open an 8-2 lead midway through the first quarter. That lead swelled to double figures as all-district performer Cheyenne Davis nailed a three-ball from the wing and added a free throw as the hosts led 17-4 after one.

The scoreboard would continue to light up for the second-seeded Lady Panthers. A Hailey Holmes free throw at the 2:35 mark in the second quarter pushed the lead to 20 (33-13). The Lady Panthers’ aggressive nature kept them ahead going into the break, thanks to a 10-3 foul count in favor of the Lady Cougars.

Coming out at halftime trailing 35-17, the visitors made their first push to slice the lead. An Ivanna Marshall stick-back along with the combination of a Gina Davis hook shot and Sharon Drew jumper cut the deficit to 12 for the guests (35-23). The Lady Panthers retaliated, thanks to Sara Whitehead rolling out five consecutive points and the hosts playing on even terms with the visitors for the remainder of the quarter for a 53-36 margin.

With reserves on the floor for the Lady Panthers at the beginning of the final frame, the sixth-seeded Lady Cougars began to mount a final attempt. Denise Frasier scored back-to-back lay-ups while all-district performer Kinesia Adkins’ lay-up cut the lead to 11. Even when the starters returned, a Latasha Johns lay-up shrank the lead under 10 points (53-44) at the 5:07 mark of the quarter.

The hosts turned up the defensive pressure. Only leading by 10, the hosts went on 13-0 run powered by six points from Whitehead and four points from Hill. The biggest lead would be 23 (70-47) at the 1:02 mark, enough to solidify the Lady Panthers spot in the regional championship game.

After the game, Otey, a first-year head coach, was limited on comments.

“I don’t have any words for me to say,” he said. “I give credit to the girls and it has been a total transformation since day one.”

Charles City [17-5] placed five players in double figures. Davis’ 19 led the way, followed by Hill’s 15, Hailey Holmes’ 12, Whitehead’s 11, and Adrienne Miles’ 10. Kayla Otey also chipped in with three points for the victors.

Surry County [8-13] was led by Adkins’ 13 and Drew’s 10.