By Dan Hardenbrook
The Newberry Lady Indians dominated both ends of the court last Friday, rolling past the Rudyard Lady Bulldogs in EUP Conference play 49-16. The win saw the Lady Indians earn an early advantage and control every phase of the contest while picking up their most convincing victory of the young season.
The 33-point win continued a recent run of strong showings against the Lady Bulldogs, with Newberry’s streak over Rudyard now sitting at four consecutive wins, three of which have come by an average margin of 41 points per game.
Senior sharpshooter Allie Whalen was at it again, putting up her latest big time scoring performance. Whalen finished Friday with more points than the entire Lady Bulldogs squad, scoring 21 points. Whalen knocked down four triples in the lights-out performance. Eleven of her 21 came in the third quarter, when the Lady Indians began to run away from Rudyard.
Whalen wasn’t alone. Seven different Lady Indians scored in an otherwise impressive balanced attack. Freshman Gracie Johnson had another strong game in debut season, scoring eight while Amelia Shanley and Ivana Kopková each sank six points. Alazayah Depew and Matti Krupla both finished with three points and another freshman standout, Sydney Duflo, chipped in two. The Lady Indians hit a season-high eight three-point shots in the win.
While the offense was on fire, Newberry’s lock-down defense kept Rudyard feeling like they were locked up inside the doghouse. Almost half of Rudyard’s points had to come from the free throw line, as Newberry limited their conference foes to just five made field goal attempts. Their highest scoring quarter of the night was only six points, and several key players for the Lady Bulldogs were held completely scoreless or were very limited in the game.
The win was the Lady Indians’ second consecutive victory, after previously knocking off Big Bay De Noc last week. They entered the week with a 2-1 overall record and were scheduled to host Superior Central Tuesday and Manistique on Thursday, before traveling to Pickford for their final game prior to the Christmas break on Friday.
