By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
Feb. 3, 2001
Kristin Chaney scored the game's final five points to send Newton County's Lady Cougars past West Lauderdale 41-37 in Division 5-3A action Friday at Collinsville.
The West Knights thumped Newton County 76-62 in the boys' game.
Newton County girls 41, West Lauderdale 37: To say both teams struggled offensively in the first half is a major understatement.
After a 4-4 first period draw, Newton County eased into halftime with a slim 13-12 advantage. Both teams shot just 26.3 percent from the floor in the first half as both made only 5-of-19 attempts. Free-throw shooting was little better as Newton County went 2-for-6 and West went 2-for-5.
Tamekia Foley scored seven points in the third quarter as the Lady Cougars pulled out to a 28-19 lead before West's Kristina Gardner hit a 3-pointer at the horn.
A layup from Yolanda Johnson gave Newton County a 32-23 lead with 4:43 to go before the Lady Knights went on a 12-4 run to get to within 36-35 on a baseline drive by J.J. Huggins with 1:41 remaining.
Huggins pulled up and knocked down a short jumper in the lane with 1:26 remaining to give the Lady Knights a 37-36 advantage and their first lead since 4-2.
Then it got real interesting.
Chaney missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:23 left, but Huggins turned the ball over with a minute remaining. Newton County's April Bufkin fouled out on a charge with 47 seconds showing, but Chaney picked Julie McCrory's pocket near midcourt and raced for a go-ahead layup with 13.1 seconds to play. Chaney finished the three-point play to give Newton County a 39-37 lead.
Foley then fouled out with 7.9 seconds remaining, but Huggins missed both free shots and Chaney hit a pair with 2.9 seconds showing to ice the win.
For the game, Newton County made 17-of-38 field goals (44.7 percent) and 6-of-12 free throws. West was 14-of-35 (40 percent) from the floor and 8-of-18 at the charity stripe.
Foley led Newton County (24-4 overall, 3-2 division) with 13 points. Chaney had 10, Johnson had eight, and Lakelia Bogan added six.
Huggins led West (20-9, 2-3) with 16 points. McCrory scored nine and JaWanda Huggins had eight.
West Lauderdale boys 76, Newton County 62: Calvin Moore scored 24 points, Van Wilson had 22, and Boo Ramsey had 20 as the Knights took the nightcap.
West threatened the run the Cougars back to Decatur early, scoring 18 of the game's first 23 points. The Knights led 19-13 after one period and carried a 40-29 lead into halftime.
Newton County used an 18-10 advantage in the third quarter to pull to within 50-47 with eight minutes remaining.
The Knights then increased their lead to 65-52 with four minutes left to improve to 15-15 overall and 4-1 in 5-3A. Kemper County is 5-0 in the league, while Velma Jackson is 5-1. West hosts Kemper on Tuesday.
Newton County, which had a four-game win streak snapped, fell to 15-10 and 2-3. The Cougars got 13 points from Delvioun Murrell and 10 each from Al Willis and Chris Wansley.
Marty Stamper is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at sports@themeridianstar.com.