After a very slow start to the first quarter with the Comets up 4-2 after five minutes, Newman found their offensive rhythm as they ended the frame with a 16-6 lead, culminating on a deep three at the buzzer.
A three-ball, two minutes into the second quarter, put Newman up by 13 with the teams playing even the rest of the half. The Comets led 29-14 at the intermission.
Offense was at premium at the start of the third quarter with EP finally scoring to make it 29-17. EP’s Lauren Punke cut the margin to 10 on a short jumper giving the Panthers some momentum with just under four minutes left in the frame. The Lady Comets responded quickly and within a minute had pushed their lead back to 16, ending the quarter on a 15-0 run to lead 44-19 after three periods.
Newman eventually pushed their lead to 30 with just over six minutes to play to initiate a running clock.
Lucy Oetting led all scorers with 22 for the Lady Comets with Gisselle Martin adding 14. Newman had five three-point buckets in the game and went 5/8 from the line. EP’s Eden Jensen, in what coach Chris Brown called her best game of the season, led EP with 8 points with Aubrey Huisman adding 6.The Lady Panthers had 1 three-point bucket and were 4/10 from the free throw line.
Brown said there were a few key moments that turned the game in favor of Newman. “They buried a 3 right at end of first quarter that took it to 16-6, then I thought we had 5 or 6 really good looks to start the 3rd quarter and got some consecutive stops on defense but we need to be able to put the ball in the hoop. Then we had a few defensive breakdowns and it exploded after that.”
With season winding down Brown said he needs the team’s leaders to step up. “Frankly we need our seniors to play like seniors and they need to lead. I thought we were not tough enough tonight and did not match Newman’s physicality. No more excuses, we have three weeks left and we challenged them that it’s their choice on how they want to finish! Until we can make a few baskets against pressure, which we can, we are gonna continue to be on the wrong side of the scoreboard against the best teams.”
With the win Newman moves to 19-5, 8-0 in the TRAC East. EP falls to 11-10 and 3-5.
The Lady Panthers will go on the road next Monday to take on the Morrison Fillies.
