Newport basketball sweeps doubleheader from rival Stevens; for Tiger boys, win is a rare one

Owen Wilkinson, of Stevens, second from right, regains control of the ball after tangling with Christian Forsythe, of Newport, second from left, during their game in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Oliver Stone, of Stevens is at left, and Aaron Fellows, of Newport, is at right. (Valley News - James M. Patterson)

Owen Wilkinson, of Stevens, second from right, regains control of the ball after tangling with Christian Forsythe, of Newport, second from left, during their game in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Oliver Stone, of Stevens is at left, and Aaron Fellows, of Newport, is at right. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) valley news photographs — James M. Patterson

Isabella Bovelll, of Stevens, left, gets picked up by Taylor Fellows, of Newport, as she dribbles the length of the court in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Newport girls won 52-28. (Valley News - James M. Patterson)

Isabella Bovelll, of Stevens, left, gets picked up by Taylor Fellows, of Newport, as she dribbles the length of the court in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Newport girls won 52-28. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) James M. Patterson

Taylor Fellows, of Newport, right, passes to teammate Zoey Lord, left, over Stevens guard Isabella Bovell, middle, in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Newport girls won 52-28. (Valley News - James M. Patterson)

Taylor Fellows, of Newport, right, passes to teammate Zoey Lord, left, over Stevens guard Isabella Bovell, middle, in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Newport girls won 52-28. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) James M. Patterson

Aidan Couitt, of Newport, right, stays focused on the basket while pressured by Jacob Davis, of Stevens, under the basket in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Valley News - James M. Patterson)

Aidan Couitt, of Newport, right, stays focused on the basket while pressured by Jacob Davis, of Stevens, under the basket in Claremont, N.H., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) valley news — James M. Patterson

By ALEX CERVANTES

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 12-22-2024 7:55 PM

CLAREMONT — Newport High girls basketball coach Ross Dole wanted Zoey Lord to slow down. He also wanted his team to play faster.

In the first of two meetings this season, Newport used a furious second-half blitz to beat Stevens, 52-28, on Friday. But the two squads spent most of the first half locked in a back-and-forth affair.

“Our defense was just sloppy in the beginning,” said Newport senior guard Taylor Fellows, who had a team-high 22 points in the win.

“We all knew it. We just needed to step it up (defensively) and get the fast breaks, easy layups. And we did a little bit of that, which definitely helped.”

The Tigers and Cardinals traded buckets and turnovers for the first 16 minutes of action, neither team able to claim more than a two-possession lead. Stevens entered the intermission holding a slim 17-16 advantage.

Dole thought his team played an “uncharacteristic” half defensively. He also felt his team was playing a bit too methodical at times offensively in the half court. He wanted to see more hit-ahead passes, which would stretch Stevens’ defense and allow Newport to break the hosts down. It was a simple recipe: Off a Cardinal miss or turnover, get the ball up the floor as quickly as possible.

The Tigers’ boss, now in his ninth year leading the program, believes Lord was rushing her shots in the first half in an effort to keep up with the team’s pace of play. Lord, who returned to the team this season, said she told herself to “finish my shots.” If she didn’t have a good look at the rim, she could kick out to her teammates and re-post.

That’s exactly what she did in the second half.

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Newport began the third quarter with a 7-0 run that forced Stevens coach Gabe Ferland to call a timeout. It was a stoppage that did little to stop the impending Tigers onslaught.

Fellows poured in 17 points in the second half, while Lord scored 12 of her 20 points in the final two quarters, punishing the Cardinals from either block. The pair have been playing together since elementary school, so the on-court connection is essentially seamless at this point. Newport will be leaning on the pair’s connection this season as it looks to return to the playoffs.

“Me and Taylor have been close our whole lives,” Lord said. “We’ve always played basketball (together) since we were in third and fourth grade. So that’s a good connection. … I love Taylor as a teammate; I love all my teammates. I’m very glad to be back.”

Newport boys basketball end drought against Stevens: Entering Friday night, it had been nearly five years since the Newport boys basketball team had beaten Stevens. That fact was not lost on the Tigers, who thumped the hosting Cardinals, 61-37, to end a nine-game losing skid stretching back to January 2020.

“We came in harder knowing that they’ve been beating us the last couple years,” Newport senior guard Christian Forsythe said of Stevens. “It’s been close, so we knew we had to get one today.”

Newport opened up a double-digit lead, 23-11, midway through the second quarter before Stevens countered with a quick 7-0 run. But a transition trey from Forsythe kickstarted a 15-2 burst for the Tigers across the second and third frames.

Newport wants to play out of transition, to let its frenetic ball pressure on defense allow its players to get out in the open floor for easy buckets. That’s exactly what it did.

“We’re really good in transition,” Forsythe said. “So we were up on them, pressing them on defense as hard as we could. That’s how we came out, and we got the steals and got the transition layups. Just barbecue chicken from there.”

With Friday’s 24-point victory, Newport has rattled off two consecutive wins after dropping its season opener against Kearsarge.

The Tigers have been ousted in the first round of the NHIAA Division III playoffs the past two seasons. Both contests have been on the road. This season, the goal is to host a playoff game.

“The intensity, the camaraderie, the way that they are coming together as a team, it’s inspiring,” said assistant coach Kevin Pollari, who was leading the Tigers in place of sick head coach Rob Clark.

“This group has had a lot of talent, a lot of individual talent, and now they’re starting to come together as a team.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.