After slow starts to the season, the Newton basketball teams are starting to warm up as division play begins.
The Newton girls won two games last week, beating Nanih Waiya 52-26 in a Division 5-2A contest and then beat Class 4A Leake Central 60-43 on Thursday.
The Tigers saw similar results as they beat Nanih Waiya 63-46 and Leake Central 64-55.
Newton will return to play on Jan. 2 and 3 when they host the Newton Shootout
Newton girls 52, Nanih Waiya 26
The Lady Tigers used a big second quarter to pull away and take a 26-point win over the Lady Warriors in the division opener for both teams.
Newton led 14-9 at the end of the first but outscored Nanih Waiya 18-2 in the second period to lead 32-11 at the half. Newton then outscored Nanih Waiya 9-8 in the third and 11-7 in the fourth to take the win.
Erin Ware led Newton with 20 points while Mariana Thames had 11 points. Sommer Jordan also chipped in 10 points for Newton.
Newton boys 63, Nanih Waiya 46
The Tigers outscored the Warriors in the first three periods and cruised to a 17-point win on Tuesday.
Newton led 11-4 at the end of the first and outscored Nanih Waiya 17-11 in the second and led 28-15 at the half. The Tigers then outscored the Warriors 19-6 in the third to lead 47-21 going to the fourth. Nanih Waiya fought back in the fourth and outscored Newton 25-16 for the final margin.
Tyreke Snow had 16 points for Newton with 13 of those the third period. Tavion White also had 16 points while De’Traun Brown had nine points.
Newton girls 60, Leake Central 43
The Lady Tigers used a big first half to take a 17-point win over the Lady Gators on Thursday.
Newton led 15-8 at the end of the first and then outscored Leake Central 19-8 in the second to lead 34-16 at the half. Leake outscored Newton 15-12 in the third but the Lady Tigers took the fourth period 16-12 for the final margin.
Erin Ware led Newton with 16 points while Mariana Thames had 12 points. Jade Qualls had nine points while Somer Jordan added eight points.
Newton boys 64, Leake Central 55
The Tigers outscored the Gators in three of the fourth quarters and took a nine-point win on Thursday.
Newton outscored Leake 14-9 in the first but the Gators took the second period 20-18 to cut the lead 32-29 at the half. Newton continued to extend its lead in the second half as they outscored Leake 19-14 in the third and 13-12 in the fourth.
Craig Craft led Newton with 21 points while Tavion White had 12 points. Tyreke Snow had seven points while Dendrick Donald, Emmanual Robinson and Jacoby Jones each had six points apiece.
