Spartans shut down Newport
Marley Burgess-Duquette rises up to attempt a floater during Saturday's game against Newport at PRLHS.
(Photo courtesy of JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY)
Samantha Pound attempts a 3-pointer Saturday.
(Photo courtesy of JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY)
Lilly Freitas looks to drive toward the basket during Saturday's game.
(Photo courtesy of JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY)
PRIEST RIVER — A stellar second half allowed Spartan girls basketball to soar to a 47-17 victory over Newport on Saturday at PRLHS.
Priest River outscored the Grizzlies 29-3 in the final two quarters to secure its second victory of the season. Head coach Gary Stewart said he made a simple adjustment at halftime and that's all it took to spark his team.
"I switched from man defense to zone," he said, "and just said, let them make the mistakes and don't put them on the foul line like we did in the first half ... that's all it was."
The Spartans nearly led from start to finish, but in the first half they showed signs of fatigue following Friday's 50-14 home loss to Timberlake to open Intermountain League play.
Priest River clung to an 18-14 advantage at halftime against the Grizzlies.
"The first half of the game was pretty stressful because we couldn't run anything," Stewart said.
But the Spartans buckled down in the third quarter, outscoring the Grizzlies 16-1. Priest River kept its foot on the gas in the fourth quarter as the clock started to run in the closing seconds.
The Spartans forced Newport to turn the ball over 28 times and the Grizzlies shot just 7-17 from the free-throw line.
"We got lucky that way," Stewart said. "Newport was cold from the line."
Lilly Freitas and Samantha Pound led the way for the Spartans each scoring 13 points. Freitas also had seven steals and three rebounds.
Allyson Barton tallied 9 points and eight rebounds, Marley Burgess-Duquette grabbed 4 points and six rebounds, and Addisen Kingery added 4 points and five rebounds. Desarai Humphrey also secured 2 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Priest River (2-3) heads to Wallace at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Spartans lost at home to the Miners 62-38 on Nov. 16.
Newport 8 6 1 2 — 17
Priest River 9 9 16 13 — 47
NEWPORT — Jurgens 10, Lawrence 0, Goodman 0, Pack 0, Whitaker 0, Garcia De Saez 0, McDaniel 0, Hoffman 2, Reedy 2, Guest 3.
PRIEST RIVER — Burgess-Duquette 4, Pound 13, Freitas 13, Thompson 2, Humphrey 2, McCracken 0, Kingery 4, Barton 9, Rhine 0.
