After losing four straight games, Newton County girls basketball coach Cory Cleveland got what he was looking for, more effort and a win.
In an up-and-down contest, Newton County closed out the game on an 11-2 run and took a 62-53 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
After leading by 10 two different times only to have Philadelphia come back and tie the game twice, Cleveland was glad to see his Lady Cougars finish the game and grab the win.
“It was a back and forth game and we had every opportunity to extend leads,” Cleveland said. “I give Philadelphia credit, they would make runs. They have some players who can make plays and did that. We just had to keep fighting back and fighting. I was pleased with the girls' efforts tonight.”
Newton County also came back and beat Union on 41-35 on Thursday.
“We have played a lot better the last week,” Cleveland said. “We have played better on offense but still need to improve on our defense. It’s good to be played well as we get ready for district play. Let’s just hope we can keep this up through the holidays.”
The Lady Cougars dominated the action early as they led 13-4 with 2:28 left in the first period and 20-11 at the end of the first.
Newton County led 27-13 with 5:39 left in the first half before Philadelphia finally got going and went on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 29-26 with 1:23 left in the half while the Lady Cougars took a 33-28 lead at the half.
Philadelphia came out and scored the first seven points of the second half and took a 35-33 led with 5:47 left in third. But Newton County finally got going in the third and outscored Philadelphia 18-6 over the remainder of the period to take a 51-41 lead into the fourth.
Just when it seemed like Newton County was in control, Philadelphia scored the first 10 points of the fourth period to tie the game at 51-51 with 3:36 left in the fourth. But the Lady Cougars scored the next seven points and outscored the Lady Tornadoes 11-2 over the last 3:04 of the game to take the win.
Nahriah Brown led Newton County with 15 points while Remni Nickey had 13 points. Keasja Wansley and Hannah McDougle each had nine points while Christaysia Denson and Jayden Mack each had eight points apiece.
“Tonight, we had several players do their part,” Cleveland said. “We had several who had eight or nine and a couple in double figures. For us to win the games we are supposed to win, everybody has to chip in and score. Everybody has to pull their weight and everybody did tonight.”
Newton County will return to play on Monday, Jan. 30 as they host Sebastopol in a make-up game and will play Scott Central on Friday, Jan. 3
Philadelphia boys 81, Newton County 44
The Tornadoes started slow but finally got going in the middle two periods as they took a 37-point win over the Cougars.
The game was tied at 7-7 with 3:53 left in the first period before Philadelphia outscored Newton County 10-4 over the remainder of the period to lead 17-11 at the end of the first.
The Tornadoes hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second and sent on a 14-2 run to take a 31-13 lead with 3:20 left in the half. The Tornadoes continued to pull away as they led 40-16 at the half.
The Tornadoes continued to pull away as they outscored the Cougars 30-16 in the third to lead 70-32 at the end of the period, thanks to four 3-pointers from Jordan Hill.
Hill led Philadelphia with 21 points while Tanner Boler had 12 points. Janaylon Dupree had nine points while Nick Green had eight and Ira Chambers added seven.
Davion Hillie led Newton County with 14 points while Josiah Cleveland had 13 points and Jamaal Croft added eight points.
