Strong second quarter lifts Lady Panthers past Lancaster

Charles City's Adrienne Miles gets up and swats the shot attempt of Lancaster's Sharda Beane.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers received double-digit points from seniors Cheyenne Davis and Jessica Hill in the second quarter to help propel them to a 72-62 victory over the visiting Lancaster Lady Red Devil Wednesday night (Dec. 18).

In the sluggish game that saw both teams shooting in the double bonus situation for a majority of the contest, the hosts begin to pull away at the end of the first half, thanks to KeAra Jones’ back to back lay-ins for Charles City to take a 44-30 lead into halftime.

The Lady Panther lead reached as much as 17, as an Adrienne Miles putback helped the scoreboard display a 53-36 for the hosts with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

However, the Lady Red Devils began to mount a comeback, as forward Sharda Beane bullied her way to the hole against the smaller Lady Panther defenders. The offensive attack mounted a 12-1 run to end the quarter, with Beane contributing half of those points.

The Lady Panther lead shrunk to four at the beginning of the final frame with Tonnasia Kelly’s close range basket. But the hosts would counter and begin to pull away again when Hailey Holmes drained a three-point basket and then converted a conventional three-point play to open Charles City’s lead to eight (60-52). Lancaster never got within eight the rest of the way as the Lady Panthers held on for the non-district victory.

Sluggish and unenergetic play were among key concerns Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey addressed after the game.

“We came out lazy with the ball and didn’t pick it up until late in the first quarter,” said Otey. “We picked it up in the second quarter but got sloppy towards the end of the game.”

A contributing factor to the sloppy play can be constituted to the fouls. The game lasted nearly two hours with teams combining for 87 free throws and 64 fouls.

“We’ve been working on free throws,” continued the victorious head coach, pointing to the 21 makes on the night. “We have slashers who get to the basket so we work on it.”

Charles City (4-3) placed four players in double figures. Hill and Davis scored 20 apiece, followed by Miles’ 13 and Holmes’ 11. Jones and Mary Black contributed seven and two, respectively.

Lancaster (1-6) was led by Beane’s game-high 28.