TURNER – Before the opening tip even began, all Adrie Newton could do was look up.

She wasn’t gazing skyward in anticipation of the ball. She was gawking up at Medomak Valley’s 6-foot-2 center Ericka Christensen. The Leavitt 5-9 forward knew she had a tall task ahead of her Friday night.

“I thought it was going to be really hard tonight because she was so tall,” said Newton.

As intimidating as the Panther’s post game appeared, Leavitt managed to make short order of Medomak Valley in a 71-49 victory. Newton dominated the opening quarter and scored 12 of her 21 points in the first eight minutes as the Hornets roared out to a start that the Panthers couldn’t match.

“We just wanted to work really hard and never give up and just keep pushing and come out really intense,” said Newton. “We just wanted to get right into it. We just pushed a lot,  and we had the open looks.”

Kristen Anderson led Leavitt with 24 points while Courtney Anderson added 16. The Hornets (11-1) were ranked third in the Western B standings while the Panthers (8-4) were sixth. Medomak was expected to provide Leavitt the biggest test since losing to Nokomis last week, but the Hornets cruised early against the Panthers, even with a showdown with Winslow lurking Monday. The Black Raiders are currently first in Eastern B.

“That’s the first game since we lost to Nokomis last week that I saw them have that little bit of swagger and that intensity level,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson.”After losing a game last week, we’ve been slowly getting back to where we really need to get back to and have that intensity level that we need.”

Newton scored six of her club’s first eight points in the game as Leavitt roared out to an 8-0 lead. Medomak started to settle in a bit and got a 3-pointer from Danielle Dyer to make it 8-5, but Leavitt stepped on the gas and sped away. The Panthers had 10 turnovers in the first quarter. Medomak struggled to get in sync offensively if it managed to survive the Hornet pressure. Most of those turnovers turned into quick points for Leavitt as the Hornets ran off 11 straight.

“When we run the floor, we’re a real solid team,” said Anderson, whose team shot 9-for-17 in the first quarter. “As long as we can run at the pace we want, we’re going to score somehow.”

Newton scored twice during the 11-0 run that made it 19-5. Kristen Anderson had five points and Courtney Anderson added a hoop off  a steal.

“I just wanted to get back before they got back and hustled,” said Newton. “I just wanted to get offensive rebounds and try to box out because I knew she was so tall that’d be a way I could get points.”

Medomak cut the lead to 19-10 late in the quarter but a rebound by Newton and a basket off a steal by Courtney Anderson made it 23-10 after the first quarter. Leavitt had the lead up to 20 early in the second after Kristen Anderson drilled three of her six 3-pointers. Newton scored off a steal as well to make it 34-14.

Christensen finished with 13 points but was hardly a factor as Leavitt’s quickness, pressure and frantic pace took the Panthers out of their game early. Alanna Vose added nine while Dyer finished with eight.Leavitt’s Sarah Frost also did a nice job defending in the post and added four points.

“Part of that was making sure we set good traps in the front court and then we don’t let the 6-2 girl get the ball,” said Anderson. “That was a big part of our plan.”

TURNER — Before the opening tip even began, all Adrie Newton could do was look up.

She wasn’t gazing skyward in anticipation of the ball. She was gawking up at Medomak Valley’s 6-foot-2 center Ericka Christensen. The Leavitt 5-foot-9 forward knew she had a tall task ahead of her Friday night.

“I thought it was going to be really hard tonight because she was so tall,” said Newton.

As intimidating as the Panther’s postgame appeared, Leavitt made short order of Medomak Valley in a 71-49 victory. Newton dominated the opening quarter and scored 12 of her 21 points in the first eight minutes as the Hornets roared out to a start that the Panthers couldn’t match.

“We just wanted to work really hard and never give up and just keep pushing and come out really intense,” said Newton. “We just wanted to get right into it. We just pushed a lot,  and we had the open looks.”

Kristen Anderson led Leavitt with 24 points while Courtney Anderson added 16. The Hornets (11-1) were ranked third in the Western B standings while the Panthers (8-4) were sixth. Medomak was expected to provide Leavitt the biggest test since losing to Nokomis last week, but the Hornets cruised early against the Panthers, even with a showdown with Winslow lurking Monday. The Black Raiders are currently first in Eastern B.

“That’s the first game since we lost to Nokomis last week that I saw them have that little bit of swagger and that intensity level,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson.”After losing a game last week, we’ve been slowly getting back to where we really need to get back to and have that intensity level that we need.”

Newton scored six of her club’s first eight points in the game as Leavitt roared out to an 8-0 lead. Medomak started to settle in a bit and got a 3-pointer from Danielle Dyer to make it 8-5, but Leavitt stepped on the gas and sped away. The Panthers had 10 turnovers in the first quarter. Medomak struggled to get in sync offensively if it managed to survive the Hornet pressure. Most of those turnovers turned into quick points for Leavitt as the Hornets ran off 11 straight.

“When we run the floor, we’re a real solid team,” said Anderson, whose team shot 9-for-17 in the first quarter. “As long as we can run at the pace we want, we’re going to score somehow.”

Newton scored twice during the 11-0 run that made it 19-5. Kristen Anderson had five points and Courtney Anderson added a hoop off  a steal.

“I just wanted to get back before they got back and hustled,” said Newton. “I just wanted to get offensive rebounds and try to box out because I knew she was so tall that’d be a way I could get points.”

Medomak cut the lead to 19-10 late in the quarter but a rebound by Newton and a basket off a steal by Courtney Anderson made it 23-10 after the first quarter. Leavitt had the lead up to 20 early in the second after Kristen Anderson drilled three of her six 3-pointers. Newton scored off a steal as well to make it 34-14.

Christensen finished with 13 points but was hardly a factor as Leavitt’s quickness, pressure and frantic pace took the Panthers out of their game early. Alanna Vose added nine while Dyer finished with eight. Leavitt’s Sarah Frost also did a nice job defending in the post and added four points.

“Part of that was making sure we set good traps in the front court and then we don’t let the 6-2 girl get the ball,” said Anderson. “That was a big part of our plan.”

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