Missed Opportunites Doom Plymouth South Girls Basketball

In a tale of two 8-0 runs, the second proved the difference maker as the No. 17 Newton North girls basketball team defeated No. 16 Plymouth South, 51-38, during the preliminary round of the Div. 1 South Sectional tournament.

The Tigers garnered an 8-0 lead to start, but the resilient Panthers quickly battled back cutting the deficit to 10-8 after the first quarter. The two teams jockeyed back and forth a quarter and a half before Newton North went on an 8-0 run to close the third quarter. Plymouth South was unable to overcome that advantage.

“It was a great team effort,” said Tigers head coach Hank DeSantis. “We had people step up. We defended very well. Ball pressure was a big factor in why we did what we did.”  

With the victory, the Tigers improve to 12-9 and advance to the first round where they will play No. 1 New Bedford. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in New Bedford.

“They're athletic. They're quick. They're undefeated,” DeSantis said about New Bedford. “We're going down there, which is always a tough task.”

The Panthers, meanwhile, end their season at 10-9.

 “I thought we fought hard, but we didn't make shots,” said Plymouth South head coach Summer Ivan. “We missed a lot of easy bunnies in the second half and they didn't miss theirs. That was really the difference of the game.”

The Tigers were certainly not missing their shots at the start of the game as senior guard Briana Hunt stole the ball and netted a layup for the 6-0 lead. Moments later, senior center Megan Gentile scored in the paint augmenting Newton North’s advantage. Gentile would finish with a team-high 10 points while grabbing five rebounds.

A Chelsea Smith jumper helped get the Panthers back into the game, and that was followed by Melissa Rodden stealing the ball and driving for a layup tying the game at 8-8.

Newton North promptly regained the lead, and would not relinquish it until Tracey Ivan scored in the paint to give the Panthers the 24-23 advantage early in the third quarter. Ivan, a senior center, was a dominant force inside netting a game-high 12 points and adding seven rebounds.  

The Panthers lead was short-lived, though, as Tiger Kayla Farina hit back-to-back jumpers that ignited Newton North’s decisive 8-0 run to close the third quarter.

“She's a consummate team player,” DeSantis said about Farina. “She does whatever asked of her. I never hear a word out of her. I'm happy for her.” 

For Coach Ivan, it was her team’s missed opportunities that are going to make it a long offseason.

“I think we had the opportunities to battle back, but we just missed them,” she said. “We missed so many little shots that if we make, it's a whole different story. It's a bitter pill to swallow. This is going to be a tough loss to go into the offseason with.”