Goodlet propels Lady Trojans past Lady Panthers as New Kent sweeps series
New Kent's Adrienne Goodlet steals the ball from Charles City's Taylor Bradby.Alan Chamberlain photos
When down by seven with the final minutes ticking away and the outcome appearing bleak, getting the ball in the hands of a seasoned veteran playmaker can sometimes pay off — like in mounting a rally to pull out a nail-biter at the end.
That scenario played out for New Kent’s Lady Trojans tonight (Thursday) on the road at Charles City in the second installment of the teams’ annual home and home rivalry. Lady Trojan senior guard Adrienne Goodlet scored her team’s final eight points to cap a furious comeback for a 51-50 victory over the Lady Panthers. Charles City owned a 48-41 advantage with less than three minutes to play.
Goodlet had been a non-factor in the first half, scoring only two points. After the break, she poured in 16.
“She just went after every ball,” said her coach, Ayla Young. “You could tell she wanted to win this game and wasn’t going to lose it. You could see it in her eyes. She was very relentless.”
Lady Panther coach Vashaun Otey had to agree. “She closed it out pretty good,” he said.
Otey’s squad stood on the brink of avenging a 55-43 loss at New Kent just 10 days earlier. In that contest, the Lady Trojans sank 22 free throws to key the win.
Tonight though, they got to the line just eight times, converting five. Charles City, meanwhile, knocked down 16 of 20 from the stripe.
Tonight also featured seven ties and eight lead changes in a contest that remained close throughout. New Kent owned a 24-21 halftime lead, thanks in part in Brittany LaPrade’s eight second quarter points, but Charles City threatened to pull away as play resumed.
An Adrienne Miles’ three sparked a 7-0 Lady Panther run that put the hosts in front. There they remained until a Goodlet stick-back with 13 seconds left in the third quarter created a 34-34 tie.
Miles’ length of the court drive and lay-in staked the hosts to a 42-38 lead before Kirsten Gipson struck from three-point range for the visitors, closing the gap to 42-41 with four minutes to play. But from there, the Lady Panthers appeared to take control.
Taylor Bradby opened a 6-0 run with a basket off a Hailey Holmes assist. Over the next two minutes, Miles and Holmes were perfect at the foul line, dropping in a pair apiece to up the advantage to 48-41.
The Lady Panthers owned the ball and a chance to stretch their lead, but the Lady Trojans turned up the pressure, forcing a steal that led to a Logyn Mills’ basket.
“For the first three quarters, we played calm and let the game come to us,” said Otey. “But then we got a little panicked and took bad shots.”
During a time out with under three minutes to play, Young told her team to take the battle to the Lady Panthers.
“I told them we’ve got to fight right here,” she said. “They gave their hearts out and did what I told them to do and pressured the ball.”
Charles City’s next three possessions fell into the one shot and done category. New Kent turned each defensive rebound into points at the other end, compliments of Goodlet.
First, she stuck back her own miss to pull her team within three. Next, she scored off penetration to make it a one-point contest. Then with 45 seconds to go, her foul line jumper put New Kent back in front.
A Mills steal and pass to Goodlet drew a foul in the act of shooting from Miles. With 29 seconds left, Goodlet calmly sank both free throws for a 51-48 lead.
The teams traded turnovers before Holmes banked a runner off the glass with eight seconds left to make it 51-50. With three fouls to give before putting New Kent at the foul stripe, the hosts aggressively worked for a steal. In a last ditch effort, Bradby batted a New Kent pass toward a teammate, but Goodlet grabbed the deflection as time expired.
“We can get positives out of tonight,” Otey said. “We played a solid game. We let it get out of hand at the end, but we’ll be all right.”
Miles equaled Goodlet’s scoring output with 18 points for the Lady Panthers (4-4). Cheyenne Davis tossed in 11 and Bradby ended with 10 while Holmes contributed seven and Jessica Hill added four.
LaPrade and Paige Simpson scored eight each for New Kent (3-6). Gipson finished with seven followed by four each from Mills and Mikayla Scorsone and Anna Mathis’ two.
Lady Panther Jessica Hill drives to the hoop encountering pressure from New Kent’s Kayla Davis (left) and Adrienne Goodlet.
Lady Trojan Brittany LaPrade looks for help after beating Charles City’s Jessica Hill to a rebound.