Lady Pointers frontcourt overpowers Charles City 55-26

Charles City guard Santaesha Hickman (left) aggressively attacks the basket as West Point's Amber Lee (20) braces for a collision.

Andre' Jones photo

After snapping a five-game skid at King William two nights before, Charles City’s Lady Panthers looked to carry the positive momentum in a Jan. 14 contest against district rival West Point during its Senior Night celebration. But the hosts had no counterpunch for West Point’s mighty one-two senior frontcourt combination.

Lady Pointer Taylor Atkinson scored 24 points, including all of her team’s eight points in the opening quarter, and teammate Brooke South finished with 11 as West Point stifled the Lady Panthers 55-26.

Both teams battled evenly in the first quarter. After Atkinson put the visitors up 4-2, Charles City orchestrated a 5-0 run with Meryah Bates hitting a free throw and adding a lay-in that was accompanied by teammate Kiandra Randall’s putback to give the host a 7-4 lead.

But that lead would be the last the Lady Panthers would see, as Atkinson scored four points to end the first quarter. South joined in on the scoring duties as the two seniors combined 7-0 run. The duo combined for 19 of the team’s 21 first half points as West Point took a 21-10 lead into halftime.

Charles City freshman Santaesha Hickman converted two baskets from the charity stripe to return the margin to single digits (21-12), but the visiting senior duo use a combination of high post-low post passing to get behind the Lady Panthers zone. The end result was 12 more points from the pair and a 37-14 lead heading into the fourth. And even when West Point’s top scoring threats sat in the fourth quarter, reserve players for the Lady Pointers maintained and increased the lead for the visitors.

After the game, Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey expressed frustration on the lack of urgency and effort in the contest in front of a near capacity crowd.

“They had no confidence in the offense,” he said, pointing to a lack of execution and not taking open shots. “They don’t believe in it. We had multiple opportunities and great looks but we were afraid to shoot.

“We also did a poor job getting back on defense,” Otey added. “We had absolutely no hustle and gave up way too many baskets.”

Sydney Richard and Bates five points led the hosts, who now maintain a record of 5-10. Hickman, Shanijah Brown and Veondra Brown each contributed four points, while Randall and Kailan Holland chipped in with two apiece.