Lincoln-Sudbury Girls Basketball Team Falls to Newton North

The Lincoln-Sudbury girls basketball team will have to wait a few more days for a chance to earn its first victory of the season, as the Warriors fell to the Newton North on Tuesday, 53-40.

“I didn’t really say anything (after the game concluded),” said Lincoln-Sudbury coach Liza Feldman, when asked about her overall thoughts on her team’s performance. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow (because) I’ve got to process it a little bit.”

As for Newton North, this particular contest was a tad bit more enjoyable to digest, as the Tigers not only earned their first victory of the season, but first-year head coach Linda Martindale earned her first official win with the Tigers as well.

“It feels great,” she said. “It feels great to win a game on defense, (too).”

Following the opening tip, the Tigers jumped out to a two-point lead, which was quickly erased, as the Warriors compiled 10 points in a little more than two minutes, thanks to junior Ashley Lutz, (16 points, 5 rebounds) and freshman Kristen Ngan, (8 points, assist, rebound).

L-S extended its lead into the second quarter, but various fouls and turnovers by the Warriors opened the door for the Tigers to regain their second lead of the game, which they never relinquished. 

Senior Madison Beatrice, (14 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds) sank her first of two 3-pointers during the closing minutes of the second quarter, which sparked a late rally by Newton North, which marched into halftime with a 7-point advantage, as well as the momentum, too.  

“(We) have to remember not to rush because when you rush, you get frazzled or start making errors that you wouldn’t normally if you’re playing calm or smooth,” said Lutz.

The Tigers increased their lead in the second half, as sophomore Infiniti Thomas and junior Jillian Doherty capitalized on back-to-back turnovers, which helped Newton North push its lead to 12 points before L-S stormed back with two back-to-back 3-pointers by Lutz and Ngan. 

“Second half was much better. We started working as a team,” said Thomas.

The Tigers defense then ramped up their intensity, and limited their opponent to just 11 shots and 8 points for the remainder of the second half, which helped Newton North preserve the win.

“Our plan was to do it on defense because offensively, we’re still trying to feel each other out,” said Martindale. “We knew we had to win with defense, and we did.”  

L-S has now dropped two consecutive contests on their home court, and will look to rebound next Tuesday (Dec. 20) when they travel to Waltham. As for Newton North, they’ll look to earn their second win on Friday when they host Norwood.