Sports
Lions Girls Basketball Stay Perfect on Senior Night
Three seniors combine for 58 points as Newton South beats Boston Latin, 87-35.
Oh, what a goodbye it was.
Three Lion seniors—Chloe Rothman, Kendall Burton, and Sophie Bikofsky—combined to score 58 points in their last home regular season game as the girls basketball team dismantled Boston Latin, 87-35, Friday night.
With the victory, Newton South remains perfect at 16-0 overall and 14-0 in the Dual County (Large) League.
Find out what's happening in Newtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“It’s Senior Night,” said Lions head coach Sam Doner. “We had a very good, productive practice yesterday, so you knew they were ready for this. I thought the underclassmen did a phenomenal job setting the atmosphere. I think that got the kids pumped up.”
Rothman battled her way to a triple-double (13 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds) while Burton and Bikofsky both caught fire from three-point land in the third quarter and finished the game with 25 points and 20 points, respectively.
Find out what's happening in Newtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“They’ve worked extremely hard for the past four, five years that I’ve known them,” said Doner. “People don’t understand what they do in the offseason; they really don’t take days off in the summer. We do a lot of hard training, both mentally and physically. They deserve this.”
The game started with the two teams struggling offensively before the Lions managed a 12-2 lead as back-to-back steals resulted in a quick four points. From there, Newton South continued the pressure on both offensive and defensive sides and ended the first half up 38-11.
Near the start of the third quarter, the Lions’ three-point laser show commenced as Bikofsky drained one from the left corner. Burton followed with her own, and Bikofsky netted her third three-pointer of the game on the next possession giving the Lions the 49-20 lead. Newton South finished the period winning 67-26 and went on for the easy 87-35 victory.
“We went into the locker room (during halftime),” said Doner. “We talked about what needed to be done. We made a few adjustments. The kids started believing in themselves. They started getting space on the court and our shots started falling.”
