Suffolk News-Herald

Marissa Facey scored 12 points and Danielle Williams dropped in seven as Nansemond River defeated visiting Churchland 48-34 on Wednesday evening. The Lady Warriors (3-8) jumped out to a 21-2 lead in the first 12 minutes and never looked back on their way to their second victory over the Lady Truckers this season (River also defeated Churchland on Dec. 9).

While the River defense held Churchland without a field goal until midway through the second half, their offense came out scoring. Whitney Eley banked home two layups to give River a 4-1 lead, and Facey, Williams and Courtney Jackson scored to end the quarter ahead 12-2.

Facey swished a pair of free throws to open the second quarter, and Shenel Slaughter got into the act, putting four points on the scoreboard as Nansemond River raced to the aforementioned 21-2. Facey bombed home her second three-pointer to get to 24-4, but Robyn Jenkins scored her team’s first bucket from the field, and the teams played evenly for the rest of the half, which ended with the Lady Warriors up, 26-8.

Churchland made its first run with 3:15 left in the third quarter, as Kendra Smalls, Brittanye Boswell and Chantell Artis-Cherry scored six consecutive points to get to 31-19. But Stephanie Adams swished a three-pointer (her first points of the night) to end the quarter with a 15-point lead. The Lady Truckers outscored the Lady Warriors 15-14 in the last quarter, but it wasn’t enough to come back.

Nansemond River now hopes to carry its momentum into Friday evening, when they head across town to visit Lakeland. The Lady Cavaliers haven’t lost to their local rivals since 2000, including a pair of defeats last season (although they fell to Churchland on Dec. 19). The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

In junior varsity competition, Sherrell Bowden scored 20 points as the young Lady Warriors raced to their first victory of the season, defeating the young Lady Truckers 38-20. The junior varsity team will take on the Lakeland girls at 6 p.m. Friday.