Warhill presses New Kent into submission

After grabbing a rebound, New Kent's Jada Hooker struggles to protect the ball from Warhill's Taylor Nicholson (left) and Alyssa Brungot and find a teammate for an outlet pass.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Warhill’s Lions quickly stole away any chance that New Kent’s Lady Trojans could pull off a stunning basketball upset. Utilizing a trapping press, the visiting Lions converted 11 first quarter steals into 14 points on the way to blanking the hosts 20-0 in the opening period. New Kent recovered somewhat before the half ended, but there was no catching the visitors as they cruised to a 59-24 win.

Monday night’s final game before the holiday break revealed that even though the Lady Trojans (3-6) are on the right path toward building a competitive program following back-to-back no-win seasons, catching up with the elite teams means considerable work lies ahead.

“We worked on press-breaking in practice, and everything played out the way we expected,” said New Kent coach Neko Burson. “We knew [the press] was coming. I reckon we went into panic mode and we weren’t getting set up.

“I told the girls we gave it to them,” he added. “It’s not so much they came out and took it; we just gave it to them.

“I know it’s frustrating for them, too,” he went on. “Sometimes, they say, you have to learn the hard way.”

Jada Hooker’s stick-back got New Kent on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. With the Lions now sitting back in a zone, the hosts stayed within the framework of their offense to manage a modest 7-2 run. Then as the first half wound down, Kyah Otey scored first on a Kayla Tirado assist and again off a Peyton Slater steal to close the gap to 27-15 at the break.

“When we can move the ball around and be aggressive, especially against teams that play zone, we don’t hold the ball long and allow the defense to get set,” Burson said.

Warhill, however, regained its opening quarter form when play resumed. The Lions put together a 16-0 run and outscored their hosts 20-2 in the third quarter.

Slater and Tirado each scored seven points to lead New Kent. Otey ended with four while Hooker, Haley Hyndshaw, and Brynne Jones added two apiece.