Published: November 06, 2007 09:00 pm      

Lady Mustangs fall to Newton in season opener

WEST ORANGE — Without question, the West Orange-Stark Lady Mustangs are going through a youth movement entering the 2007-08 basketball season.

The Lady Mustangs played extremely hard for first-year head coach Charles Thrash in their season opener against the Newton Lady Eagles Tuesday night at Mustang Gym.

Some of the new “young guns” played well in their first varsity action but inexperienced showed as Newton forced the Lady Mustangs into 35 turnovers as the Lady Eagles walked away with a 62-50 victory.

The Lady Mustangs (0-1) got off to a tremendous start, jumping out to an 18-11 advantage to end the first period. However, the Lady Eagles trimmed the WO-S lead to 31-28 at the half and went on to control the second half by going on a 34-19 spurt.

“We do have quite a young club and it’s all about getting that experience,” said Thrash. “I thought the kids played hard the whole way. The turnovers do bother me. The tough thing about it is that you want to protect your house and take care of business at home.”

Junior Kia Hartfield, the only starter returning off last year’s Class 3A Region III semifinal team, powered the Lady Mustang arsenal with a double-double, pouring in 15 points and snatching 10 rebounds.

“Kia has been through some wars,” Thrash said. “She’s definitely our quiet leader. She had a nice night.”

Freshman Demitrius Heard had a solid debut as well, pouring in 14 points, 12 in the first half, and grabbing six rebounds. Kayla Adams punched in 10 points for the Lady Mustangs. Ryshaniqua Winbush had nine rebounds and Ishaneka Gant added six as the Lady Mustangs outrebounded Newton 50-43.

“I thought we hit the boards well,” Thrash said. “I saw a lot of positive signs tonight but I also saw a ton of things we need to work on. We’re certainly a work in progress but the future looks promising and I’m happy to work with all of the kids.”

Forward Deonishia Hanks led the Lady Eagles with a double-double of her own, collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds. She scored 10 points in the decisive second half.

Forward Crystal Foster tallied 14 points for the Lady Eagles while Juanita Watson contributed 11 points and seven boards. Brandy Johnson just missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Newton turned the ball over 21 times and went 4-for-9 from the free-throw line. The Lady Mustangs attempted just four free throws, converting on one.

Hartfield got the Lady Mustangs on the right track, draining two three-pointers in the first period while Heard and Winbush added four points apiece.

Nine WO-S turnovers helped spark the Lady Eagles in the second period as Newton was able to pull to within three points at intermission.

Newton outscored WO-S 16-10 in the third to go up 44-41 going into the fourth. Foster banged her way inside for eight third-period points to spark the run.

The Lady Eagles forced 10 WO-S turnovers in the fourth to pull away with a 18-9 run. Hanks and Watson tossed in six points apiece to lead the surge.

The Lady Mustangs will participate in the Nederland Tournament Thursday through Saturday.