Published: November 21, 2008 08:58 am      

Newman’s bursts sink Morrison

MORRISON, Ill. — The best part of being part of the state's second-best team in Class 2A means that, on many occasions, everyone gets to play.

Thursday night, everyone in Sterling Newman's blue-and-white got to play — a lot — against the host Fillies in the third day of Sauk Valley Shootout competition, as the Comets defeated Morrison 67-22.

The Comets' starters opened up the huge gaps in their lead: 15-0 in the first four minutes, 25-3 after one quarter and to 61-20 with a 21-2 third quarter.

But it was the reserve players who logged the lion's share of the minutes Thursday night, making Newman starters and coach alike happy to see their teammates get a chance.

“It's good, for me, to see those girls get a lot of minutes. Sooner or later, we might need them off the bench, and when that happens, you want to try not to skip a beat,” Comets coach Mike Papoccia said.

Morrison (0-3) already was missing expected starter Erin Carney before Thursday night's game. Then, the Fillies had to deal with incidental collisions that left starting point guard Hailey Hall bloodied — and in need of a new jersey — and forced winger Shelby McBride to leave the game between halves in order to prevent further damage after the back of her head hit the floor after she collided with a Newman player in midair.

“Shelby's another one of our go-to people,” Morrison coach Ben Thomas said. “It's obviously too early (in the season) to risk anything, and with the score being what it was and us playing (today, against Bureau Valley at Rock Falls) right after school (4:30 p.m.). Her mom took her to the doctor (shortly before the second half began).”

Only Kerrie Tenboer (17 points, seven rebounds, four steals) was able to maintain a consistent threat to the Comets, and even then it was difficult. Tenboer had to take 19 trips to the free-throw line for her hard-earned points.

“(With Erin and Shelby missing), Kerrie has had to take the burden on as far as scoring is concerned,” Thomas said. “She just needs to realize that she doesn't need to take it all on herself.

“We told the girls that this team would be one of the best it faces all season. Hopefully, what they take out of this is the feeling they had in the locker room at the end. We spotted them 10 points right away. They've got to know from the very first tip that they need to be ready to play. A team like Newman's not going to back down. They're going to bring it every single time.”

Sterling Newman 67, Morrison 22

NEWMAN (3-0) — Katie Kipping 2-7 1-2 3 0 6, Amanda Trancoso 3-5 1-2 1 2 7, Krissy Holmes 2-4 0-0 1 3 4, Michelle Salvatori 6-9 0-0 3 2 13, Megan Salvatori 2-6 1-2 4 2 5, Gretta Hermes 5-7 3-6 5 2 13, Anne Molitor 3-5 0-0 2 4 6, Kelly Slain 2-2 0-4 5 2 4, Kaitlyn Hunsberger 1-1 2-5 0 2 4, Ashley Mosher 0-1 0-0 2 4 0, Sarah Pendergast 1-5 3-7 4 0 5, Audrey Wahl 0-4 0-0 1 0 0. Totals 27-56 11-28 33 23 67.

MORRISON (0-3) — Hailey Hall 0-3 0-1 0 3 0, Paula Bush 0-1 1-2 2 1 1, Shelby McBride 0-1 0-0 1 2 0, Kerrie Tenboer 2-9 12-19 7 4 17, Kaitlyn Kenady 0-2 0-0 3 5 0, Amanda Smith 1-1 2-4 5 2 4, Liz Bushnell 0-0 0-0 0 2 0, Ashley Wieneke 0-3 0-0 0 2 0, Mariah Naftzger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0, Brittiny Starr 0-0 0-0 0 2 0. Totals 3-20 15-26 26 23 20.

Newman 25 15 21 6 — 67

Morrison 3 15 2 2 — 22

3-point field goals — Newman 2-6 (Kipping 1-1, Mi. Salvatori 1-3, Molitor 0-1, Pendergast 0-1), Morrison 1-9 (Tenboer 1-4, Hall 0-2, Wieneke 0-3). Steals — Newman 28 (Kipping 5, Mi. Salvatori 5, Hermes 5), Morrison 8 (Tenboer 4, Hall 3, Wieneke 1). Assists — Newman 10 (Kipping 5), Morrison 1 (McBride 1). Turnovers — Newman 16, Morrison 35.