By CHRISTOPHER SHABAN
Eagle Times Correspondent
NEWPORT – On Friday night, a new chapter was written in a decades long rivalry between Newport and Stevens and it didn’t get any better than this one. Stevens senior Tess Whitney battled foul trouble all night but when the game was on the line, she buried both free throws to break a tie and give her Cardinals team a thrilling 42-40 win in a packed Wheeler gym.
If you didn’t get to the gym early, you probably didn’t find a seat as this game had all the fixings for a dandy. Newport was honoring their seniors and Stevens was fighting for their playoff lives while the Tigers were looking to move up in the standings. The gym was in a frenzy before the opening tip as the Newport student section aka “The Zoo” were covered in white and was as loud as ever while Claremont had their usual strong following.
Newport jumped out to a 10-5 lead as emotions were sky high for the Tigers as Alexis Hurd and Alyssa Burr netted eight points each while the Cardinals Sydney Miller dropped a pair of three pointers to keep Stevens close as the quarter ended with Newport leading 12-11. Whitney picked up two fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game and was whistled for her 3rd foul only 4 minutes into the game as Carrie Faro took Whitney’s spot on the floor.
The second quarter was a deep freeze for Stevens as they went nearly four minutes without a point while Newport couldn’t take advantage and only increased their lead to 15-11 as they missed five free throws in the quarter. Stevens clawed their way back as Miller’s three ball gave the Cardinals their first lead 17-15 but at the final seconds ticked away in the half, Burr and Hurd’s buckets gave Newport a quick 4-0 burst and the lead 21-20 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Cardinals stayed in their 2-3 zone to start the third quarter and Newport went ice cold hitting only one shot from the floor in the quarter. As Newport was having trouble finding the bottom of the net, Miller canned another three pointer and added free throws while Alexis Ford and Jenna Pond joined in with buckets of their own. Faro’s hard work paid off with a layup and when the quarter had ended, the zoo was tame as Stevens had opened up a 32-24 lead. “For the first time all year, we were being patient and had three good quarters under our belts,” said Stevens head coach Ivy Condon after the game setting up an electric final quarter tonight.
Anna Pysz’s high bank shot off the glass cut the Stevens lead to 32-26 before another Miller three pointer hushed the zoo. Dole went with a press and immediately paid dividends as Selena Coronis hit a shot and after a steal, her bucket cut the Cardinal lead to 35-30 as the gym was wild. Hurd’s bucket from the paint was followed by a Corinis free throw and Hurd again found net and the game was tied 35-35 as the crowd as loud as any crowd this year.
After a Stevens timeout, Ford and Pond hit back to back buckets to give Stevens the lead 39-35 with under two minutes remaining which also saw Ford whistled for her 5th foul and was forced to the bench. Whitney entered the game and was immediately fouled and hit one of two free throws. Kennedy Pysz’s three pointer brought Newport to within two points to 40-38 and Hurd sank both of her foul shots to knot the game at 40-40 with seconds remaining.
On the next Stevens possession, a missed shot was gobbled up by Whitney and she was fouled sending her to the line with nine seconds remaining. “The crown was so loud, I couldn’t even think then I just found my zone and visualized my shot,” said Whitney after the game. Whitney sank both shots and broke up the final Newport play on the defensive end to secure the win for Stevens as she was mobbed by her teammates after the final buzzer.
“This was a do or die game for us as we knew we needed a win to have any chance to make the playoffs,” said Condon after the game and called the win, “the best team effort all year”.
Campbell lost to Monadnock tonight 27-26 which means that Stevens and Campbell are tied for the 16th and last playoff spot. Seeding will be announced next week as Monadnock will await that team.
Kennedy and Anna Pysz along with Alexis Hurd were honored by Newport head coach Ross Dole before the game as their families gathered at midcourt for a few moments with hugs, gifts and some tears.
Dole said after the game, “That was such a tough game to lose but it’s behind us now and we are focused on the playoffs. I tip my hat to Stevens as they really played a great game tonight,” added Dole.
Newport seems to have the 12th position and it looks like they will be headed to Conant for a first round playoff game. Newport lost to Conant early in the season 46-45.
Official pairing will be announced by the NHIAA soon.
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