ISLE OF WIGHT COURTHOUSE
After finishing the regular season 13-9 and making it to the semifinals in the conference tournament, the Isle of Wight Academy Lady Chargers entered the VISAA Div. II State Tournament as a No. 8 seed.

That seeding was an improvement on last year’s team, but it’d be as far as they would make it. In the first round, Isle of Wight was not able to stop 6-foot-2 sophomore Emily Maupin, of the No. 9 seeded Covenant Lady Eagles, as she exploded for 30 points and 20 rebounds in the 56-50 Chargers loss.

Senior forward Gabriella Hooper put up 26 of her own, 19 of that in the second half, but the Chargers were not able to get back into the game after falling behind 25-17 in the first half.

The Chargers were coming off a 49-26 loss to the No. 2 Atlantic Shores Lady Seahawks in the semi-finals of the Metro Tournament on a Saturday that was cold for the ladies in multiple ways.

In that loss, Hooper led all scorers with her 14 points. The game was never in doubt, as the Seahawks were able to spread the ball around a good bit after going up 20-5 in the first quarter of play. The Chargers lost all three matches to the Seahawks this season.

Feb. 20, the first round of the Metro Tournament, was the opposite, as Isle of Wight picked up its third win of the season against the StoneBridge Cavaliers, 43-15. MacKenzie Terry led the Lady Chargers with 12 points, and Gabriella Hooper, who didn’t play a lot of minutes, had 11.

With an overall record of 14-11, the Chargers finished around where head coach Chris Hooper had thought they would at the beginning of the season. From last year, Isle of Wight suffered a drop-off in winning percentage, and they fell from second place in the conference to third, but for the fourth-straight year, the Lady Chargers improved on their seeding in the state tournament.

Meanwhile, the boys team entered the postseason with a 5-21 record, which was good enough for the Metro Conference’s No. 8 seed. Unfortunately, that matched them up against the Atlantic Shores Seahawks, who pulled off the 70-37 victory and swept the Chargers this season.