Newport basketball player Greysan Beaulieu Tries to block Sunapee player Miah Hamm’s shot during a game in Sunapee Monday night. – Paul Howe
SUNAPEE – The Newport Tigers Girls Basketball team scored off the opening tip and never trailed, defeating the Sunapee Lakers, 61-43.
Newport quickly went up 5-0, leading to a Laker timeout just over a minute into the contest. Early, the offensive rebounds and second chance points propelled the Tigers. Sunapee, on the other hand, struggled to score. “Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves,” said Sunapee Head Coach Steph Larpenter. “We need to stay calm.”
After one period, the Tigers led 17-12. In the second, Newport’s defense clamped down. They forced numerous turnovers, and beat Sunapee on many hustle plays. “We wanted to focus on playing really hard man-to-man defense,” said Newport Head Coach Ross Dole. This defensive intensity gave them a 32-18 halftime lead, and was a big part of them only allowing 11 points in the second and third quarters combined.
Newport got big performances from Alyssa Burr, 11, and Selena Coronis, whose 18 points was a game high. She not only excelled driving to the rim, but she also was able to step outside and drill multiple threes. For Sunapee, Fiona Nolan dropped 13, most coming in the fourth quarter as she continued to hustle despite a steep deficit.
The third ended with Newport leading 54-23. For Larpenter, this blowout was less due to size, but the difference in experience. “Its experience for sure,” said Larpenter. “We played the Hindsdale girls tough last week and they are big.”
The Tigers took advantage of their big lead, using the final frame as a testing ground for their younger talent. “It helps tremendously,” said Dole. “We were tough on them, it still is a varsity game. We told them to come in, play good defense, and learn from it.”
Sunapee was able to go on a good run against the younger Tigers, outscoring them 20-7 in the fourth to make the final score closer than the game felt, 61-43.
After the game, Larpenter spoke to the areas in which her team needs to improve as the season winds to a close. “Work on buckling down on defense, and start taking better care of the basketball.”
The Tigers, however, see this hopefully as the start of a momentum build heading towards the finish line. “We have six more to go, we gotta get some momentum so that we can begin hitting our stride going into the playoffs.”
Sunapee will hope to get back on the winning track at home Friday against Nute, while Newport will travel to Franklin to take on the Golden Tornadoes.
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