Wolves Open With a Win

The Newsome Wolves opened their season last night against a tough, tough Plant City team. In the opener, the girls faced an athletic, motivated Plant City team led by coaches daughter Jade Forte. In spite of a spirited 25 point performance from Forte, the girls were able to emerge triumphant behind a defense that forced numerous turnovers and a disciplined, balanced game. The girls spread the scoring around as Kelsey Rodriguez led the team with 11 points including three treys in the first quarter while Aramati, Burgan, Hitsman, and Shelley all added between 7 and nine as Newsome came away with the 49-45 win.

For the boys, Plant City came into the game with a win under their belt against Brandon, while it was the first regular season outing for the Wolves. With several players recovering from illness or injury, the Wolves faced a very difficult task. Plant City held a lead until midway through the fourth quarter on a stellar performance from senior Chris Smith, who finished the night with a game-high 21 points. Newsome fought back with a HUGE performance from senior Samal Shepherd, who repeatedly demonstrated his ability to create his own shot. Shepherd had 20 points while sophomore Dylan Bridges and senior Jake Hodges chipped in 12 apiece. Plant City kept the pressure on right down to the closing horn, but the Wolves were able to eke out a 52-45 opening win.

Tonight the Wolves will host the Durant Cougars in the home opener. Durant has been picked by many as one of the top teams in the district. They are a team full of familiar faces, as many of these players are friends, neighbors, and travel basketball teammates of the Wolves players. The Cougars are 2-0 on the season and are led in scoring by junior Andre Nation with 20 ppg, senior point guard Jeffrey Thomas with 17 ppg, and senior guard Jordan Mitchell with 8 ppg.

Last season Durant stunned Newsome 65-51 in the season opener. AJ Garden, the leading scorer for the Cougars in that game is continuing his basketball career at Jacksonville University. Also graduated is their rebounding leader, center Dexter Barge, who had a double double (10 pts, 10 rebounds) in that game. Andre Nation and Jeffrey Thomas also played a major role scoring 16 and 10, respectively. The Wolves were led in that game by Hodges, Shepherd and MacKey, all in double figures.

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