Despite Hickman’s 36, Lady Panthers drop home opener to Southampton
Charles City's Skye Bradby (left) and Kailin Howard (right) put the defensive squeeze on Southampton's Jordan Lee (32).Andre' Jones photo
When most basketball teams enter a rebuilding year, they are looking to replace one of three things; speed, size, or experience. For Charles City’s Lady Panthers, they must deal with that triple whammy during the 2016-17 campaign.
With two returning players sidelined by injuries and a third out due to a personal matter, the host Lady Panthers could not overcome the invading Southampton Lady Indians, falling 65-43 in the Nov. 30 home opener.
Charles City’s backcourt proved to be the only advantage of the night for the hosts, in particular returning all-conference guard Santaesha Hickman. The sophomore guard scored the team’s first eight points of the contest to keep within striking distance of Southampton. Lady Panther backcourt mate and lone senior on the team Veondra Brown chipped in a pair of points from the charity stripe as the duo combined for all the scoring in the opening frame as they trailed 19-12 heading into quarter number two.
Brown’s free throw and Hickman’s subsequent steal and score sparked a 6-0 run for the Lady Panthers to pull with one (19-18). Southampton snapped a four-minute scoring drought with a string of baskets provided by Ja’Mya Hunt, Emily Balance, and Jordan Lee to return the lead to eight (28-20). But Hickman orchestrated her own run with six straight points, part of her 23 total in the first half as the Lady Panthers entered halftime down 30-26.
Hickman’s free throw conversions to open the quarter squeezed Southampton’s advantage down to two (30-28), before the Lady Indians began to apply more pressure to the miniscule guard. The ploy resulted in Bryanna Knight knocking down a hook shot and a subsequent free throw. Her assist to teammate Tayana Rogers and Hunt’s jumper pushed the lead to double digits for the first time (42-31).
Matters didn’t become easier for the hosts as Southampton crashed the boards against the much smaller Lady Panthers. Second chance opportunities by the visitors coupled by younger Lady Panther players adjusting to the speed of the game propelled what eventually became a 15-3 run that spanned two quarters. Knight and Hunt combined for 13 of the final 15 points for the Lady Indians while Charles City’s offense could only muster four field goals in the final quarter to close out the contest.
Fifth-year Lady Panther head coach VaShaun Otey spoke adamantly about the tasks at hand for his young team.
“This year there is a lot of learning going on as a whole lot of these girls never played before,” he said. “We had a lot of mental lapses tonight because we didn’t pay attention to the small details.
“We probably got outrebounded three to one tonight,” Otey continued, pointing to the size disparity combined with his team not boxing out. “It’s not good enough to do the stuff just at practice. It has to transition to the game.
“The biggest thing they are going to have to realize is that when they are open I want them to take the shot,” the coach said as he wrapped up the interview. “Tonight, we ran the offense and was open but we froze up. I am hoping to see more confidence from them.”
Hickman led all scorers in the contest, pumping in 36 points for Charles City (1-1). Brown tossed in five and Alexis Betts accounted for the remaining scoring with two.
Knight’s 25 and Hunt’s 17 topped the points column for the visiting Lady Indians.