BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Newberry used a 13-2 fourth-quarter run to thwart the Bradford High School girls basketball team’s rally as the visiting Panthers won 56-46 in a Jan. 17 matchup of District 3-3A teams.
Both teams entered the game in the top 20 of the Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps Class 3A power rankings. Bradford was ranked 16th, while Newberry was 18th.
The Tornadoes got off to bad start, committing 10 turnovers in the first quarter. Bradford’s Nichelle Brown scored the game’s first basket, but it was one of only four field-goal attempts for the Tornadoes in the quarter.
Newberry’s Brandy Whitfield scored off her own steal, which was the start of a 10-0 Panthers run that also included baskets following steals by Sarah Beaulieu and Ariyah Debose.
Ar’Nayshia Griffin scored on a drive for Bradford to make it a 10-4 game, but the Panthers then went on a 9-2 run that included seven points from Jada Brown.
Bradford cut down on its turnovers in the second quarter, but continued its struggles from the foul line. The Tornadoes made 3 of 7 free throws in both the first and second quarters.
The Tornadoes scored the first five points of the second quarter, getting a pair of baskets from Griffin and a free throw from Brown, but a three-pointer from Newberry’s Jada Brown gave the Panthers an 11-point lead. Newberry would hold a 10- to 11-point lead for most of the rest of the quarter, taking a 28-18 lead into the half.
Nyasia Lopey provided a spark for the Tornadoes at the start of the third quarter. She made 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt and then sank a three-point shot to make the score 30-23. Beaulieu answered Lopey’s trey with one of her own to put the Panthers back up by 10.
It was 35-25 when Bradford closed out the third quarter with a 9-1 run that began with Griffin scoring on a drive to the basket. After a free throw by Newberry, Bradford’s Wynter Barrington grabbed a rebound on the offensive end and put it back for a basket. Griffin had a backcourt steal and was fouled going to the basket, making 1 of 2 free throws. Griffin then had two consecutive baskets — the second off a Cherish Bing steal — to send the Tornadoes into the fourth quarter trailing 36-34.
Griffin scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, tying the score for the first time since early in the first quarter.
The score was 38-37 in favor of Newberry when the Panthers went on a 13-2 run. Jada Brown scored six points during that span, which also included Newberry getting two baskets off turnovers.
Griffin scored 17 of Bradford’s 28 second-half points and finished with a game-high 30. Bradford also got nine points from Nichelle Brown, five from Lopey and two from Barrington.
Barrington led the team in rebounds with seven and blocked shots with four. Brown, Griffin and Lopey each had five rebounds, while Griffin also had three steals.
