By Tray Mason
Correspondent

The King’s Fork girls basketball team’s magical season came to an end Tuesday evening as the Lady Bulldogs lost to Princess Anne 51-47 in the quarterfinals of the Eastern Region Tournament.

Although KF (22-3, 17-1) went into the game as the higher seeded team, Princess Anne (24-2, 9-1) has been a perennial power in the state for years, winning last year’s VHSL State Championship (AAA).

The game was a lot closer than many thought, as the Lady Bulldogs had many chances to win the game but could not take advantage as they had all season.

KF got down early 16-5 at the end of the first quarter, but fought their way back, capitalizing on their size advantage and getting the Lady Cavalier post players into foul trouble.

Despite being bigger than their opponents and the foul trouble, the Lady Bulldogs struggled converting easy baskets and layups, but still trailed by just two points, 29-27, at the half.

The Lady Bulldogs struggled to start the second half, though, as PA went on a 9-1 start, not allowing a KF field goal until the 2:20 point in the third quarter.

But the Lady Bulldogs continued to fight and closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run, trailing 38-35 going into the final quarter.

KF took a huge loss when Chantel Roberts, who led her team with 14 points, went down with a left knee injury at the start of the fourth quarter.

The game got as close as one point, 41-40, after Khadedra Croker scored on an offensive rebound while being fouled with 4:33 remaining in the game.

From that point, it was a game of possessions and free throw shooting, and the Lady Cavaliers won.

Galaisha Goodhope scored six of her game-high 25 points in the last two minutes, and Princess Anne players made all six of their free throw attempts in the last two minutes.

Shaikeyla Jordan missed two critical free throws with 1:20 remaining that would have cut the PA lead to two.

“I’m just very disappointed in all the shots we missed,” said KF head coach Maurice Fofana. “We make a few of those, and we win.”

The Lady Bulldogs two 6-foot-4-inch post players trailed behind their usual totals. Croker finished with 12 points, while Delisia Sharpe finished with just 4 points in her final game as a Lady Bulldog.

The loss makes this the second most successful season in school history for KF, trailing only 2006-2007 season where the team went 25-2, 16-0 in the Southeastern District.