TAUNTON, Mass. – When every player on the court is a threat from distance and the majority of them can handle the ball, defense becomes a tough thing to do.
Newton South hit 10 three pointers and pulled away in the fourth quarter to down Taunton, 60-54, in the first round of the MIAA D1 South playoffs.
The Lions looked to pull away in the third quarter, building their lead to 44-31, but the Tigers closed out the third on a 10-0 run to make it a 44-31 game heading into the fourth. Taunton couldn’t capitalize in the fourth, and quick went down 51-42.
“We just wanted to get it under 10,” Taunton head coach Walter Harrigan said, “When we got it down to three, that was good. In the fourth, we had a quick turnover and they came back down and hit a three. I thought that stopped our momentum a little bit.”
It seemed like a special night from the beginning for Newton South, as Kayla Burton scored her 1000th career point in the first quarter. Burton, along with Jessa Rubera and Emily Chang, were scoring threats each time down the court.
Taunton had a pair of seniors go into double figures, with Kim Hixon scoring 15 points and Angie Martinez adding 14 points and 17 rebounds. Martinez caused all sorts of fits for the Lions in the first half, but couldn’t convert for a field goal in the second half.
“They doubled down on her and she just couldn’t get herself set,” Harrigan added. “Offensively we didn’t space as well as we could to open her up. Give their defense credit, they rotate very well.”
The Tigers will lose four players to graduation after this season, including Hixon, Martinez, Sahar Khalill (8 points), and Emily Richman.
“These kids have been great,” Harrigan said. “I just told them that it was my pleasure to coach them over the years. They went above and beyond what I expected this year.”