The Newton girls are within one game of reaching the hallowed grounds of Mississippi High School basketball known as the Big House.
The Lady Tigers won two games last week to advance in the Class 2A State Tournament, beat West Bolivar 67-17 on Monday and Walnut 51-31 on Friday.
Meanwhile, the boys squad easily won their first-round game on Tuesday as they beat West Tallahatchie 49-30. The Tigers were scheduled to host Leland on Saturday night but severe weather moved that game to Monday.
The Newton girls will play the winner of New Site and Leland on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a spot in the Class 2A final four. New Site lost to Ingomar in last year’s Class 2A state finals.
Newton girls 51, Walnut 31
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a quick lead and finished strong as they took a 20-point win over Walnut on Friday night.
Newton started quick as they outscored Walnut 19-8 in the first period and led 26-12 at the half. After outscored Walnut just 5-4 in the third, Newton pulled away n the third by outscoring the Lady Wildcats 20-15 in the fourth.
“Our motto the last few games has been to throw the first punch,” Newton coach Perry Fletcher said. “We have been playing from behind a lot and I challenged the girls to come out and throw the first punch. Walnut came down with 19 wins and were real disciplined. I thought our girls came out and threw the first punch and I don’t think that Walnut ever recovered.”
Fletcher said his team did a good job of managing a hot and humid gym on Friday night.
“We have been rocky all season in the third quarter,” Fletcher said. “And it was so hot and humid, the girls were cramping up. We were looking to survive that third quarter but knew they had to play in it as well. We practice in it all the time so we were ready for it. These girls have been working hard all year long. We aren’t really worried about the final score, we just want to play as hard as they can play. They have been playing from their hearts and not their heads and that’s been the difference this season.”
McKinley Ware led Newton with 15 points while Nia McCalphia had 14 points and Myja McNichols added 12 points.
Newton girls 67, West Bolivar 17
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a big lead and cruised to a 50-point win to open the Class 2A playoffs on Monday.
Newton dominated from the beginning as they led 27-1 at the end of the first and 38-6 at the half. Newton continued to extend its lead in second half, outscoring West Bolivar 19-5 in the third and 10-6 in the fourth.
McKinley Ware led Newton with 16 points while Nia McCalphia had 14 points. Myja McNichols had nine points while Ja’Leah Hickmon added eight points.
Newton boys 49, West Tallahatchie 30
The Tigers took a 19-point win over the Choctaws to advance to the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.
Newton led just 9-6 at the end of the first period before they outscored the Choctaws 16-5 in the second to lead 25-11 at the half. West Tallahatchie outscored Newton 11-8 in the third before newton finished off the game by outscoring the Choctaws 16-8 for the final margin.
Jamarian Pace led Newton with 16 points while Dazmeon Page had 11 points. Henry often and Jayden Robinson each had six points apiece.
