Friday, January 07, 2000
Newport loses shooting touch
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
ALEXANDRIA — It won't take long for Newport to figure out why it dropped a 55-40 decision to Louisville Mercy in Thursday's Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Classic game.
The numbers from Bishop Brossart's Seither Center don't lie: The Wildcats shot 13-of-36 from the field, 14-of-36 from the free throw line and committed 27 turnovers.
“It's frustrating,” Newport coach Aric Russell said. “We missed at least 16 shots in the paint. We'll just put it behind us.”
This week has been one Newport (8-4) may like to forget. The Wildcats took two losses, including one to Enquirer No.1 Bishop Brossart on Wednesday. They started the week 8-2 and one of the Ninth Region's most pleasant surprises.
“I don't know if we got our hopes up,” said junior center Nicole Wagner, whose nine points Thursday were second to junior forward Stephanie Atkins' 10. “We know not to let up.”
Mercy senior center Kelly Logsdon led the Jaguars with 11 points. She didn't hesitate with the answer to why her team won.
“Mainly it was the intense defense,” she said.
In its 57-42 loss to Brossart, Newport shot well under 40 percent from the field and barely made half its free throws. In the first half against Mercy, same story: 5-of-20 from the field, 4-of-12 from the line.
One thing Newport did show was the ability to come back from a sizable deficit.
Mercy (10-3) took an 11-4 lead four minutes into the game on five points from Logsdon and four from junior Kara Looney, but Atkins and Rachel Seibert led a 6-0 Newport run to close to 11-10.
But junior Sam Napier and Logsdon scored the next four points for a 15-12 Mercy lead after eight minutes.
Logsdon said the Jaguars had their heads in the offense, but few of Mercy's shots fell. The Jaguars didn't score from the final 1:46 of the first period until freshman Lauren Person's bucket with 3:50 left in the half.
Newport, meanwhile, scored the first three points of the second quarter to tie the game at 15-15, and Wagner's free throw made it 17-16 Mercy with four minutes left.
It was the last time the Wildcats would be so close.
Mercy scored the final seven points of the half. Newport didn't hit another field goal, and junior center Keisha Brown missed four free throws. The Jaguars opened the third quarter with a 15-7 run behind five points by junior Liz Ulanowski.
LOUISVILLE MERCY (55) — Looney 4-0 9, Napier 3-2 8, Ulanowski 3-4 10, Berding 2-1 5, Kupper 1-2 4, Vierling 2-0 4, Person 1-2 4, Logsdon 3-4 11. Totals: 19-15 55.
NEWPORT (40) — Seibert 1-0 2, Beatsch 1-5 7, Wagner 4-1 9, Mills 3-1 7, White 1-3 5, S. Atkins 3-4 10. Totals: 13-14 40.
Lou. Mercy ....... 15 9 22 9—55
Newport ....... 12 4 11 13—40
Three-point goals: LM-Looney, Logsdon. Records: LM 10-3, N 8-4.
• Bishop Brossart 62, Maysville St. Patrick 33, Northern Kentucky Classic at Brossart — The Lady 'Stangs, ranked first in the Enquirer's Northern Kentucky poll, were never threatened after taking a 20-8 lead after one quarter.
Brossart was 28-of-47 from the field for 59.6 percent and held the Lady Saints to 14-of-45 for 31.1 percent. The Lady 'Stangs also won the rebounding battle 30-21.
Junior guard Katie Schwegmann led Brossart with 24 points, and senior center Emily Phillips had nine rebounds.
ST. PATRICK (33) — Bess 5-1 11, Conway 4-1 9, Klee 4-2 10, Parker 0-1 1, O'Neil 1-0 2. Totals: 14-5 33.
BISHOP BROSSART (62) — Schwegmann 10-3 24, Phillips 4-0 8, Henke 0-1 1, Clift 6-0 12, C. Clark 1-0 2, Schultz 2-1 5, Ritter 2-0 4, S. Clark 1-0 2, Geiman 2-0 4. Totals: 28-5 62.
St. Patrick ....... 8 10 6 9—33
Bishop Brossart ....... 20 16 15 11—62
Three-point goals: BB-Schwegmann. Records: SP 8-4, BB 8-4.
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