Dry spells cost Newark in physical loss to Westerville North

On Dec 21, 2022

NEWARK — The Newark girls basketball team has ridden the roller-coaster through the first half of the season, and the Wildcats too often have ended up at the bottom.

Newark overcame an 18-2 run from visiting Westerville North in the third quarter to tie the Warriors late Tuesday. The Wildcats, however, then went three minutes without a basket in a 56-49 loss at Jimmy Allen Gymnasium.

“We have kids who are stepping up and wanting to be leaders and trying to get it figured out,” said Newark coach Jack Eifert, whose team has been unable to avoid a stumble against a challenging schedule.

“We are on our way to it,” he added. “It’s getting better even though the win-loss column doesn’t quite show it. It’s why we play these games early on. We just need kids to step up, and we will see how they do it really quick.”

Senior Ally Carr caught fire in the first half for Newark, burying five 3-pointers. Her hot shooting combined with aggressiveness on the glass and on defense helped the Wildcats to a 27-18 halftime lead.

Seniors Sophie Bidwell, who assisted Carr’s first two 3s, and Syncere Royster were active, grabbing offensive rebounds and keeping the Warriors from getting the ball inside at the defensive end. Much of the Wildcats’ first-half success also came with junior Riley Gingerich and sophomore Addison Hall, a recent addition to the varsity roster, on the floor.

“It’s just trying to find some kids you can get comfortable with and have continuity, so you are not just throwing kids into a situation they don’t know what they are doing,” Eifert said. “We have to find kids to give those starters minutes to breathe. (Hall) did well at times. As she continues to get more comfortable with that role, she will continue to do better and better with it.”

Another forgettable stretch, however, was just around the corner. After senior Brie Gingras hit a 3 to move Newark (3-6) ahead 30-18, the Warriors (5-3) came charging back behind guard tandem of Kayla Curry-Brown and E’Moni Guice-Finch.

Curry-Brown scored 12 of the Warriors’ 18 points in their onslaught, attacking the Wildcats off the dribble both in half-court offense and transition. Guice-Finch assisted Heba Husein’s 3 and hit a 3 of her own to account for the other six points.

“We were feeling them out in the first half, and with us being an inexperienced bunch, we finally got a third quarter where we hit some shots that went our way, and we were able to get into our press,” North coach Lamont Tillman said. “We made enough of shots to be able to stay in it consistently. That was the difference in the game.”

A pair of 3s for senior Jenna Shackleford allowed Newark to catch its balance. The Warriors, however, scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to push their lead to 47-38 before the Wildcats made their final charge.

Gingras scored on back-to-back layups while also face-guarding Guice-Finch on defense. Shackleford followed with another 3, and Royster tied the game on a putback with 3:21 before the shooting again went cold at the wrong time.

“We talk all of the time about responding to adversity and trying to win the next moment,” Eifert said. “You have to live what you preach. That took a lot of resilience to have all of the wind taken out of our sails and be looking at that 47-38 deficit, and all of a sudden, we claw our way back.”

Carr totaled 15 points and four assists for the Wildcats, who are right back to work Thursday when they play perennial power Anthony Wayne at Harvest Prep at 5:15 p.m. Shackleford added 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals and Gingras 11 points.

Curry-Brown led the Warriors with 28 points, including a 13-for-16 performance from the foul line. Guice-Finch added 11 points and Husein 10.