Monstrous third quarter by Lancaster overwhelms Lady Panthers in hoops contest

Charles City Lady Panthers (l to r) Susi Kuhn, Veondra Brown, and Skye Bradby battle with Lancaster's Nealasia Rednold (center) for possession of the ball.

Andre' Jones photo

For two quarters, Charles City’s Lady Panthers stayed within striking distance of the visiting Lancaster Lady Red Devils during a Dec. 1 contest. But a massive run to begin the third quarter paired with the visitors’ devastating press turned the matchup into a runaway rout.

The Lady Devils orchestrated 33 consecutive points to close the third quarter as they dropped Charles City 69-20, handing the Lady Panthers their second consecutive loss.

After Lancaster jumped out to an 8-2 lead, senior Lady Panther Veondra Brown converted a pair of free throws that was followed by Santaesha Hickman’s lay-in to help the hosts stay within four heading into the second quarter (10-6).

Hickman rebounded a Lancaster miss and drove the length of the floor, converting another easy bucket for the hosts to get within two. Brown added two more from the charity stripe to tie the game at the 6:05 mark of the quarter (10-10). But a three-pointer from Lancaster’s Skylar Henderson allowed the visitors to set-up a 1-2-1-1 full court press. The defensive ploy resulted in a steal and layup by the visitors Skylar Sawyer. Back-to-back scores added by Jasmyn Tomlin allowed the Lady Devils to take a 24-13 lead into the halftime intermission.

Hickman earned consecutive trips to the free throw line to start the third quarter, draining three of four attempts. But those points would be the last the hosts would see for the next nine minutes as Lancaster became more successful in the press. The Lady Red Devils defense targeted Hickman to prevent her from receiving the ball, with the successful strategy leading to 14 consecutive turnovers for the Lady Panthers. Meanwhile, eight Lady Red Devils contributed to the 33-point unanswered run to end the third stanza as the visitors took a comfortable 59-16 into the final frame.

Brown’s free throws with 6:26 remaining in the contest snapped the scoring drought, but the gap in the scoreboard triggered a running clock, a new rule implemented by the Virginia High School League for teams trailing by 20 or more points in the second half.

After the game, Lady Panthers head coach VaShaun Otey commented about the second half collapse, saying that the team had a mental breakdown in the contest.

“To me, it comes down to the players knowing their ability,” said the frustrated head coach. “A lot of the players were trying to do stuff outside their ability.

“Our bigs were out of position and Santaesha (Hickman) wasn’t breaking the press the way we instructed her too” Otey continued. “You can see our inexperience they were because they got flustered and it snowballed.”

Otey said the season is young, but he expects his team to turn it around.

“I have no doubt this can be a good team but they got to believe in their ability,” the head coach said as he concluded his interview. “Our veterans have to step up and be leaders. Right now we need leaders.”

Hickman scored 11 to lead the Lady Panthers (1-1). Brown scored eight and Kailin Holland chipped in with one.

Lancaster’s (2-0) Jasmyn Tomlin scored 19 points to lead four players who finished in double figures for the visitors.