By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
NEWPORT, N.H. — Led by two of the top scorers in Division 3, Newport achieved a remarkable turnaround this winter by reversing its regular season record from 3-15 to 15-3.
Unfortunately for Newport, they entered Wednesday night’s opening round playoff game without Taylor Fellows, who led the team in scoring this season.
With Fellows sidelined due to injury, the 14th-seeded Cardinals knew they had an opportunity to pull off an upset against the third-seeded Tigers, despite falling to Newport on two occasions earlier this season.
Stevens capitalized on Fellows’ absence, holding Newport to a season low in points, en route to a 36-27 victory on Wednesday at Wheeler Gym.
Stevens held a 12-11 edge after the first eight minutes of play before distancing itself from Newport during the second quarter. The Cardinals held Newport scoreless for over six-and-half minutes to open the period and entered the half with a 22-15 advantage.
Fans throughout Wheeler Gymnasium undoubtedly expected Newport to make a push in the second half, yet Stevens continued to extend their lead. By the end of the third quarter the Cardinals possessed a comfortable 14-point cushion.
Newport held Stevens to only two points during the fourth quarter, but they lacked the offensive firepower to mount a successful comeback. The Tigers reduced the deficit to nine with just under three minutes remaining before being held scoreless the rest of the way.
Stevens featured a balanced attack led by Bailey Morin with 11 points and Audrina Pelton with seven. Zoey Lord scored a game-high 14 points for Newport and Brooklyn Ranney added six.
Stevens (7-10) will make the trek to sixth-seeded Prospect Mountain (14-4) for its quarterfinal matchup on Saturday. Prospect Mountain cruised to a 42-23 victory against 11th-seeded Belmont in the opening round of the playoffs. Newport finished the season with a 15-4 record.
