Both Newton County basketball teams advanced out of the district 5-4A Tournament this past week.
The Lady Cougars lost 54-37 to Choctaw Central in the championship game after beating Northeast Lauderdale 40-22 in the semifinals.
The Cougars lost 58-53 to Choctaw in the semifinals but then beat Northeast Lauderdale 64-58 in the consolation game.
The Lady Cougars move to 14-8 on the season and will host Raymond on Monday in Class 4A first-round action. The Cougars, 10-12 on the season, play at Mendenhall on Tuesday in first-round action.
Newton County girls 40, Northeast Lauderdale 22
A week after losing to the Lady Trojans, the Lady Cougars got their revenge and took an 18-point win in the semifinals of the district tournament.
County outscored Northeast 12-7 in the first and 10-5 in the second to lead 22-12 at the half. County then outscored Northeast 10-3 in the third and 8-7 in the fourth to take the win.
Dazlie Tubby led County with 15 points while Nalayah Phillips had 11 points. Felicia King also chipped in nine points for County.
Choctaw Central girls 54, Newton County 37
The Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Cougars in every period as they took a 17-point win to take the district championship on Friday.
Choctaw outscored County 14-10 in the first and 12-9 in the second and led 26-19 at the half. The Lady Warriors continued to extend its lead, outscoring the Lady Cougars 12-10 in the third and 16-8 in the fourth to take the win.
Nalayah Phillips led County with 12 points while Felicia King had 11 points. Dazlie Tubby also had seven points for the Lady Cougars.
Choctaw Central boys 58, Newton County 53
The Warriors took an early lead but had to pull away late to take a six-point win over the Cougars in the district semifinals.
Choctaw jumped out to an 18-6 lead, but County outscored the Warriors 25-11 in the second to lead 31-29 at the half. Choctaw then outscored County 16-13 in the third and 13-8 in the fourth to take the win.
Lorenzoe Gardner led County with 29 points while Jayce Beal had eight points and Byron Pruitt chipped in seven points.
Newton County 64, Northeast Lauderdale 58
The Cougars rallied in the second half to pull away and take a six-point win over the Trojans on Friday in the consolation bracket.
Northeast outscored County 13-11 in the first and 15-9 in the second and led 28-20 at the half. But the Cougars got going in the second half and outscored the Trojans 17-10 in the third and 27-20 in the fourth to take the win.
Lorenzoe Gardner led County with 17 points while Bryson Jefferson had 14 points. Jayce Beal had 10 points while Davion Roberts added nine points.
