In an overtime game, it’s usually the team that’s in the best shape that comes out on top.
That was exactly the case on Thursday for the Newton High School girls.
The Lady Tigers overcame an early double-digit deficit and took a thrilling overtime win over Forest on Thursday night.
“Coach Boyd does a great job at Forest and had them ready to play,” Newton coach Perry Fletcher said. “It was a great atmosphere. It was a packed house and we had a lot of people there. I think the girls were a little tense and missed some layups early. We couldn’t get any rhythm and they got out to a big lead on us.”
Forest used that early momentum to go up 16-4 at the end of the first period and led 31-18 at the half.
“After the first quarter, we were able to get a few defensive stops and that led to some easy baskets,” Fletcher said. “Our defense kind of got us settled down. Once we did that and put some things in perspective, we realized that we were just the same as they were.”
The Lady Tigers started to close the gap in the third period as they outscored the Lady Bearcats 14-7 to pull within 38-32 at the end of the third. The Lady Tigers continued to battle as they tied the game up at 48 by outscoring Forest 16-10 in the fourth. Newton then outscored Forest 9-5 in overtime to take the win.
“We noticed at halftime that Forest was getting a little winded in their press,” Fletcher said. “We broke their press and made them play half-court defense. Going into the overtime period, some of their key players had four fouls. We were in good shape and I think that was the key. Our endurance played a big part of us winning that game.”
Ja’Leah Hickman led Newton with 16 points while McKinley Ware had 14 points. Nia McCalphia also had 13 points.
Newton will return to action this week as they travel to Southeast Lauderdale on Tuesday and Wingfield on Thursday. On Friday, Newton will travel to Newton County to finish out their week.
Forest boys 51, Newton 48
In a playoff-like atmosphere, Class 3A Forest held on to take a three-point win over Newton on Thursday night.
Newton led 10-8 at the end of the first and 24-19 at the half. Forest then outscored Newton 13-7 in the third an 19-17 in the fourth to take the win.
Jay Roberts led Newton with 14 points while Dazmeon Page had 12 points and Jamarian Paced added eight points.
Newton girls 57,
Jefferson Davis County 37
The Lady Tigers used a big fourth period to pull away and beat former coach Marcus Luckett.
Newton led 15-7 at the end of the first and 26-20 at the half. Newton maintained the six-point lead as each team scored 11 points in the third period to make the score 37-31 going into the fourth. In the final period, Newton outscored Jefferson Davis 20-6 to take the win.
Myja McNichols and Ja’Leah Hickman each had 16 points apiece while Zia Shields had 10 points and Nia McCalphia added seven points.
Newton boys 64, Jefferson Davis County 56
The Tigers overcame a first-period deficit and took an eight-point win over Jefferson Davis County.
The Jaguars led 18-15 at the end of the first but the Tigers took the second period 11-5 to lead 26-23 at the half. The Tigers then extended their lead in the third, outscoring the Jaguars 19-12 to go up 45-35. The Jaguars outscored Newton 21-19 in the fourth for the final margin.
Jamarian Pace led Newton with 20 points while Yorel Phillips had 16 points. Jay Roberts added 11 points for the Tigers.
