Newton-Conover girls hit high gear, cruise past Cavs

Newton-Conover High girls’ head coach Ike Williams said Tuesday night’s Catawba Valley Athletic 2A basketball game at East Burke really wasn’t about making a statement to start the new year.

Still, the Red Devils’ play spoke volumes.

Shynese Whitener scored 19 points and Kadesha Gibbs added 18 as Newton-Conover got the new year started with a bang, cruising to a 57-37 win to hand the Cavaliers their first league setback.

Taylor Petty added 16 points for the Red Devils, who shot 45.7 percent and were a far different offensive unit since their last game.

Newton-Conover (10-3, 2-1) scratched out just 27 points in a Catawba Valley Classic championship loss to Hickory last Thursday.

On Tuesday night, the Red Devils posted that amount at half thanks to a modest goal set by Williams before the opening tip.

“We were getting back into conference play, and I just wanted the girls to play well,” said Williams. “We knew East Burke was a solid team, so we wanted to come out, play hard and execute better at the offensive end.”

Newton-Conover also was opportunistic, forcing 19 turnovers and converting them into 24 points. The Red Devils had 19 turnovers but East Burke (9-4, 2-1) managed only 13 points off them.

 “That’s probably been our bread and butter all year, capitalizing on mistakes,” Williams said. “But it’s also been our Achilles heel. We’re usually the ones with more (turnovers) when we’ve lost.”

Lauren Arney’s 12 points led the Cavs, who had problems adjusting to Newton-Conover’s multiple defensive looks. The Red Devils mixed a variety of zones with a harassing man-to-man that held East Burke to 26.2-percent shooting.

“We’ve been trying to improve our defense every game,” said Williams. “One advantage I think we have is speed, but I know it was an off night shooting (for the Cavs).

“We said before the game we can give them room to shoot, and if they beat us, they beat us from the inside.”

The strategy paid dividends, with East Burke finishing just 2-for-15 from 3-point range.

Ahead 14-11 after the opening quarter, Newton-Conover took control in the second quarter by outscoring the Cavs 13-4. Seven of East Burke’s 13 possessions in the quarter ended with turnovers.

A basket inside by Sydney Haas pulled the Cavs within 34-27 with two minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter, but East Burke got no closer. The Red Devils ended the quarter with a 40-29 advantage and used a 13-6 surge to start the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach.

EAST BURKE 67, NEWTON-CONOVER 54

Clay Byrd scored 23 points and Trever Hyatt added 22, as the Cavaliers used a sizzling third quarter to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and pull away for the win.

Alex Kelly added 10 points for East Burke, which shot a sparkling 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) to outscore Newton-Conover 24-7. That turned a 27-19 deficit at the half into a 43-24 lead entering the final quarter.

A Hyatt jumper gave the Cavaliers (9-4, 3-0) a 54-40 lead with 3:35 left, but the Red Devils (7-6, 2-1) pulled to within 59-53 with 57 seconds left before a Newton-Conover foul and technical ended any comeback hopes.

Jacob Young hit two foul shots and Byrd added the two technical free throws. Byrd was then fouled on the ensuing possession and hit two more free throws for a 65-53 lead.

Tyoun Shuford’s 15 points and Kevin Holloway’s 12 led the Red Devils.