Eastside Girls Basketball Suffers Emotional Loss To Newberry

NEWBERRY — The Eastside High School girls basketball team lost 51-40 to Newberry on Thursday.

An Intense Beginning

Eastside (13-8) got a quick start with Precious Marshall scoring a 3-pointer at 7:05 of the first quarter. Shortly after, Akira Martin assisted Marshall for a layup, bringing the Rams to a 5-0 lead.

However, the Newberry Panthers (14-7) began to catch up, making the game an intense battle with each team scoring points back and forth.

Trinity Cooper solidified the Rams’ lead with two 3-point shots near the end of the first quarter. Aniya West and Marshall also ended the quarter with a layup each to make the lead at 16-11.

The Eastside Rams are up, 16-11, versus the Newberry Panthers at the end of the 1st quarter.

#20 Trinity Cooper scored an amazing 3-pointer.#GirlsBasketball #EastsideRams #NewberryPanthers pic.twitter.com/aTglnPTohQ

— Mandy Roman (@mandy_roma91408) February 1, 2024

Struggling Second Quarter

The Rams began to lose control of the game in the second quarter. Multiple crucial defensive mistakes were made to allow the Panthers to gain the lead, while the Rams struggled to make any offensive plays.

Passes were not being completed and the team’s plays were off. Almost every shot attempted at the net was intercepted by the Panthers and counterattacked for points.

Trinity Cooper tried to hold the defense down, but the Rams ended the first half behind at 32-21.

At the end of the first half, the Eastside Rams are now down, 21-32, versus the Newberry Panthers.

The Rams made many crucial offensive and defensive mistakes during the 2nd quarter, causing them to lose their lead. #GirlsBasketball #EastsideRams #NewberryPanthers pic.twitter.com/p8PAlKAXNZ

— Mandy Roman (@mandy_roma91408) February 2, 2024

Rams On The Run

West scored a layup early into the third quarter, trying to help the Rams come back.

The game became aggressive with a lot of close contact, as the Rams held off the Panthers as much as possible. Merveille Namusura made an amazing block at 7:25, but, still, the Rams entered the third quarter short at 42-31.

The Eastside Rams are still down, 31-42, at the end of the 3rd quarter against the Newberry Panthers.

#2 Aniya West made some strong plays on offense to try and come back.#EastsideRams #NewberryPanthers #GirlsBasketball pic.twitter.com/0wAWRoVXbN

— Mandy Roman (@mandy_roma91408) February 2, 2024

A Rough Ending

The Rams began to amp it up with West playing her strongest on both sides of the court. West scored six points this quarter, but the Rams’ offense overall had many missed opportunities that cost them.

Although they improved their game in the fourth quarter, it was still not enough to catch the Panthers.

 

Still Hopeful

“Be disciplined, play hard. We need to communicate more, take care of the ball and execute,” said Eastside coach Lonna Turner, whose Rams have lost four of their last five games.

This was an emotional loss for Turner and her team after playing well in their last game, a 59-25 win against the Santa Fe Raiders on Tuesday that snapped a three-game losing streak.

Eastside, the top seed in next week’s Class 4A-Disrict 5 tournament, seeks to right the ship beginning Wednesday, when it plays the winner of Monday’s semifinal between four seed Santa Fe (6-9) and five seed Keystone Heights (1-20). Also Monday, three seed Suwannee (8-6) plays six seed North Marion (0-18). The winner there plays two seed Palatka (13-9) on Wednesday, the springboard to Friday’s title game.