Newton County sweeps tourney
By By Robby Atkinson/staff writer
January 11, 2004
ENTERPRISE The Newton County Lady Cougars picked up the 2004 Enterprise Invitational tournament title on Saturday, but it wasn't an easy task.
Newton County outscored Enterprise 18-6 in the second quarter and forced 10 turnovers to take a 48-35 win over the lady Bulldogs.
Newton County held a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, despite poor shooting from the field. Senior Kacey Jimmerson was responsible for six points for Enterprise in the opening quarter.
Enterprise cut the lead to 12-10 to open the second quarter behind a fast-break basket by Jimmerson, but the Lady Cougars broke the game wide open in the second with an 18-2 run to take a 30-14 lead into the half.
Newton County struggled shooting from the field once again and only hit two baskets the third quarter. Mallory Shumake hit both of the baskets in the third that accounted for the only offense for the Lady Cougars.
Jimmerson kept the Lady Bulldogs within striking distance at the end of the third scoring 10 points to help Enterprise slice Newton County's lead to 37-26.
Newton County put the game away in the opening moments of the fourth by forcing several EHS turnovers and hitting big perimeter shots from Andrea Dubose to take the 13-point victory. Dubose also had 10 rebounds in the opening half..
Shumake led the way in scoring for the Lady Cougars with 13 points, and Dubose added nine points in the tournament win for Newton County. Jimmerson turned in a game-high 22 points for Enterprise.
Newton County (11-6) will meet West Lauderdale in a key divisional showdown at home Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m. Enterprise (8-8) will host Clarkdale in a pivotal Division 7-2A game Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Newton Co. (boys) 69
Enterprise 24
Newton County scored early and often in taking the boys' tournament championship over Enterprise. The Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 21-5 in the first quarter and never looked back in securing the victory.
The second quarter was much of the same as Newton County took a 42-11 lead into halftime. The Cougars forced seven turnovers in the first two minutes of the second quarter to take the comfortable lead over the Bulldogs.
Craig Pruitt led the Cougars with 15 points, and Ricardo Alcanter followed with 10. David DAngelo was the leading scorer for Enterprise with nine points in the loss.
Clarkdale (girls) 68
Stringer 53
The Lady Bulldogs used a pair of 8-0 runs in the third quarter to take a convincing win over Stinger to salvage a victory in the tournament.
Clarkdale led 25-23 at the end of the first half and blew the game open with an 8-0 run behind Felicia Kirksey to take a 33-23 lead with 5:23 left in the third quarter.
Kirksey paced Clarkdale's offense with a game-high 29 points, and Jayme Hales added 16.
Nikki Graham had a team-high 14 points in the loss for the Lady Red Devil,s and Amber Cooley chipped in with eight points.
Stringer (boys) 67
Clarkdale 59
Stringer held a slim 29-28 lead at the end of the first half and took control of the rest of the game to take an eight-point win over Clarkdale.
The Red Devils held its largest lead of the game, with 3:12 left in the fourth, behind a pair of jump shots from Tip Garner to make the score 51-40.
Clarkdale trimmed the score to 58-50, but the Bulldogs could never find a way to climb back into the game.
Devin Barrett led the way in scoring for Stringer with a team-high 16 points, and Mike Barrett added 15. Shannon Henley finished the night with a game-high 30 points for Clarkdale, and Quinton Walker scored 13.
