By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT — Husky speed was on display from the outset as a Newport team waiting for the return of Riley Skarin couldn’t match the pace or inside game of Monadnock and fell 52-20.
“We did lots of good thing tonight. Our guard play was solid and we beat their press well,” said Newport head coach Ross Dole after the game. “Our shots just didn’t fall and without Skarin in the paint we struggled against their bigs.”
Monadnock came out with a full court press that made the Tigers play into the Huskies advantage. Bobby Fortes made five man substitutions at a time which kept the pace quick. With Grace Furze and Breann Lawrence controlling the paint for the Huskies, multiple second chance shots led to a pile of Monadnock points. As the game wore on, the young Tigers began to adjust to speed of the game began as Maddy Lovely, Tanya Sanchez, and Taylor Fellows began to battle in the paint and grab more and more rebounds.
With Monadnock leading 25-9 at the break, the Tigers came out hungry to start the second half and threw down six quick points with Lovely getting her spin move to the hoop working. Monadnock adjusted and went right after the Tigers to the basket and pushed the lead back to a comfortable level.
Even with the game winding down, Newport freshman Skylar Nelson was pounding away in the paint to grab back-to-back offensive rebounds.
“I just want to be the best I can be,” said Nelson before she grabbed a ball for a shooting drill after the game. “We’re still learning but I won’t give up no matter what the score is.”
“She will stay as long as she can just shooting and working on her game” Dole said.
Lovely led the Tigers with nine points while Fellows added five points and Sanchez chilled in with four points.
Monadnock (4-2) was led by Furez with 17 points and Lawrence with 14 points.
A very exciting junior varsity contest ended with Monadnock holding off a fierce Tiger comeback and left with a 35-33 win. Newport was down eight points late and had the ball with a second left but couldn’t get a shot off. Helen Kalacinski led Newport with 12 points and Cassie Sandorn finished with 10 points.
Newport (1-3) will host Hillsboro-Deering on Friday at 7 p.m.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.