Girls Hoops - 2006
Newton vs. Lithonia
By Larry Williams
Dec 6, 2005, 07:35 EST

“Lady Rams” hold on to beat Lithonia

Carter holding it down at Newton

Lithonia H.S. Gymnasium - Lithonia, GA

Brittany Carter scored a game high 13 points to lead Newton.

When Newton’s Brittany Carter hit the high school scene a couple of seasons ago as a freshman at Redan she and current Redan junior Anelia Murray joined then highly touted sophomores Porsha Phillip, Amani Franklin, LeLe LeSeur (now at Wesleyan) and Natalie Holder on what was going to be one of the best basketball teams in the state and the country by their junior and senior years and Carter was the one who’s athletic ability was off the chart.

Well Carter left Redan and I haven’t had the chance to see her play again until last night and she has progressed nicely, not where I think she would have been if she had stayed with the No. 2 ranked “Lady Raiders” but you can still see that awesome athletic ability in her game as she scored a game high 13 points helping Newton hold off Lithonia.

Led by Carter, Tete Lett and Shay Marks the “Lady Rams” from Newton jumped on a cold shooting Lithonia squad. A jumper by Carter with time running down in the 1^st quarter gave Newton a 14-6 lead.

Jennifer Coates (#32) and Niara Boyd-Watson each scored 11 points to pace Lithonia.

As the 2^nd quarter got underway Newton started to pull away getting a pair of baskets from Mya Spears. Before things got out of hand Lithonia Head Coach Arthur Rubin called a timeout to settle down his scrappy young team, which only has 2 seniors.

After the T.O. the “Lady Bulldogs” started coming back behind the play of junior Jennifer Coates and sophomore Corissa Deadwyler who started taking over in the paint. A short jumper by Tamea Hardrick with 4:42 left in the half cut Newton’s lead to 19-11. A few moments later Carter completed a three-point play to give Newton their largest lead of the game 24-13. Lett knocked down her second three-pointer of game for the “Lady Rams” as they took a 27-13 lead into the half.

Lithonia looked like a different team at the start of the 3^rd quarter as they came out of the locker room and started forcing the action on both ends of the court. Coates and Niara Boyd-Watson, both juniors led the charge. Coats drilled a long three-pointer and Boyd-Watson scored a pair of hoops to cut Newton’s lead to 31-24 with 4:12 left in the 3^rd quarter. A short spurt by Newton at the end of the quarter helped them maintain the lead 36-29.

Newton's Mya Speaks is covered by Lithonia's Shania Williams and Cashondra Sanders.

A Lithonia fan smiles for the 4SHOT Hoops camera.

Newton opened up their largest lead of the game 40-29 scoring 4 quick points at the started of the 4^th quarter and looked like they might cruise to an easy victory but Lithonia never quit. Sophomore Shania Williams scored a pair of baskets to pull Lithonia to within eight to make the score 43-35 with :56 seconds to play. Needing to foul to get the ball back proved to be a great strategy for Lithonia because Newton only converted 5 of 16 free-throws down the stretch.

With less than :06 seconds to play Lithonia sophomore Jacinta Woods drilled a big three-pointer to cut the lead to 47-44. Lithonia fouled Newton’s Shay Marks sending her to the line for a 1 and 1 with :04.6 seconds to play. She missed the first shot but Newton was able to secure the rebound and the game by a final score of  47-44.

Scoring Recap

Newton:

Brittany Carter scored a game high 13 points to lead Newton. Tete Lett finished with 9 points including 2 three-pointers, Mya Spears added 8 points and Loren Wilkins chipped in with 7 points.

Lithonia:

© Copyright 2006 by 4SHOT Sports