Newport tops Lady Seminoles, 50-43

OSCEOLA - The Osceola Lady Seminoles dropped to 2-10 on the season after a close loss to Newport on Tuesday at Seminole Arena. Freshman Teriyah Lee and Senior Ari Dolton contributed 13 points apiece in the defeat, while freshman Jada Robinson led the Greyhounds with 14 points in the 50-43 win. The team’s took a couple minutes to get into a flow, as Newport scored the game’s first basket through Robinson. Shakari Black got Osceola on the board with a free throw which was answered by a Niya Davis three-point shot. Ty Brown took it in-side and gave Newport a 6-1 lead. The Seminoles called timeout. After the stoppage, Neveah Jones deposited a three-point shot to take the lid off the basket. Osceola still struggled offensively, as her shot was their only field goal of the quarter, despite creating a few extra chances from offensive rebounds. They trailed 8-6 after a quarter played.

Newport began the second quarter scoring seven points unanswered. The run halted when Lee let one fly from the top of the key. Tykerria Harris scored her first points on the next possession, taking it into the lane and scoring in traffic. Pushing the pace proved proficient for the Noles, who tied it up 15-15 after two more fastbreak scores courtesy of Lee and Harris. Newport then shifted back into the driver’s seat. Late in the half, Lexi Hembrl made a three and Davis received the ball in the post and converted a three-point play at the charity stripe. At halftime, the Lady Noles found themselves trailing 23-16 despite Lee’s game-high seven first-half points.

The two sides traded baskets to open the second half. Dolton pulled the Lady Noles within striking distance with a deep ball which made the score 25-21. Newport denied the Osceola comeback by going on an 8-2 run. Lee came up big with a shot from outside late in the quarter, but those were her only points during the period. Both teams scored 12 during the quarter, keeping Osceola’s deficit at seven points as they went into the final quarter behind 35-28.

Both sides remained exchanging baskets, as Osceola’s offense picked up, but they couldn’t seem to get a stop. Dolton scored from outside to open the fourth, but the Lady Noles conceded on the other end. Lee found the net again, but her basket was quickly answered, too. With around 4 minutes left, Lee dialed one up from behind the arc. Before Osceola fans could celebrate, Robinson hit a 10-footer. They’d pull close once more with 26 seconds remaining and down five. But Aubrey Burns put the game away for Newport by converting a pair of free throws. Osceola matched Newport’s tally of 15 in the quarter, but couldn’t string a large enough run together to make the come-back.

Newport coach Joseph Anders said he wasn’t overlooking the Lady Noles going into the contest. “We played them in September and it wasn’t the best game for them, but they’ve really improved since then. We wanted to get after it on the boards and play with extra effort because we say they just took Rivercrest to overtime.”, he said. He knew that playing Osceola away would be challenging. “The atmosphere is something special in this area, and it can get to players, but it didn’t get to us.”

The Osceola girls program did manage a split of the two games Thursday as the junior girls defeated Newport by a score of 40-10.