LEWISTON — Battling it out in the basketball trenches takes a little bit of ferocity and a fierce intensity.

The pushing and shoving for position and the leaping over taller players takes a steely eye-determination sometimes. It’s no place for the timid. It takes a pretty tough demeanor to do it well.

Leavitt’s Adrie Newton does all that —  but with a smile. The Hornets junior center does everything her role requires. She does it to great effectiveness, but her play is always accompanied by her beaming, enthusiastic, love-for-life grin.

“I’ve accidentally hit her in the face before, she’d still be smiling,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson. “She loves it. She loves the game. They all love the game.”

With Saturday’s Western B championship win, the Hornets are all smiling and taking that excitement into Friday’s state title matchup with Nokomis at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Newton has been a large part of Leavitt’s success. She had 15 points and 15 rebounds against York in the regional final. That was against one of the state’s top players, Nicole Taylor.

“It’s always fun to have a challenge,” said Newton, who is also a standout field hockey and softball player. “Though this year it wasn’t as much fun as it was that game. I liked going in as the underdog. So if I did bad, it was no big deal, but if I did, it was amazing.”

She was equally effective against Lake Region’s 6-foot center Tiana-Jo Carter as well. She led all scorers with 18 points in that semifinal win.

Her playoff output really is nothing new. She’s been Leavitt’s go-to player in the post since she was a kid.

“She’s been our biggest player since third grade,” said Anderson. “So she’s kind of used to working with this team.”

She’s also used to being the so-called “big girl” on the squad. Even though, especially compared to the likes of 6-footers like Taylor and Carter, she’s not that big.

“I’m not all that tall,” says Newton, with a smile. “For our team, I’m tall, but compared to everyone else, I’m not that tall.”

Newton has played big since joining the Hornets as a freshman. She’s been that post presence that can grab the rebounds, score inside and feed the fast break. She’s done it so well in her career and so effortlessly, she often gets overlooked with the sharp shooting Anderson sisters, Courtney and Kristen, torching teams from the outside.

She might be attracting a little more attention these days, but Anderson says Newton is just doing what she always has.

“It’s been the same as its been her whole career for us,” said Anderson. “She’s always been a great rebounder for us. She runs the floor real well. She catches real well and can finish real well. I don’t think we’ve seen anything different. It’s like she’s played for us forever.”

Newton was among the leaders in the KVAC B standings in three categories. She was fourth overall in points (17.3), seventh in rebounds (7.8) and 10th in steals (2.7).

Though she was an all-star her first year with the Hornets, Newton has worked on her game since. With the Hornets hoping for great things to come, Newton knew she’d have to be as good as some of the talent she’d face in crucial tournament games.

“I wanted to keep improving because I’m really not that tall,” she said. “I’m just 5-foot-9. So I needed to work on getting better so I could be at that level that other girls were at.”

Early on, it was easy to be an athletic player in the post. She’d get her share of missed shots and putbacks. She also knew it wouldn’t always be that easy. She tinkered with her game and tried to make herself better. She’s worked on her outside shot and her post moves, even if you don’t see them all the time.

“I want to be able to finish,” she said. “Usually I’d have open shots, but I wanted to be able to do more post moves for when I have someone on me.”

Rebounding has been a point of emphasis all this year for Anderson, and Newton has risen to that call. She improved positioning and technique, something that was evident against Taylor last Saturday. There was one point in which Newton got four straight rebounds before finally putting one back for a basket, prompting a huge grin for her efforts.

“The thing I’ve improved on the most is definitely rebounding,” she said. “The coaches really worked with me and made sure I always found a body. I usually just stood around and waited for the ball. They wanted me to really find a body in between each shot.”

That’s not only key for the Hornets on the offensive end, but getting the defensive rebound fuels Leavitt’s transition game. If the Hornets get the defensive board, they’re off and running.

“Offensive rebounds are an easy thing to do,” said Anderson. “Kids like to score and get the ball. We’ve really been focusing on defensive rebounds so we can run the floor.”

That’s going to be vital against Nokomis Friday. The Warriors handed Leavitt its only regular season loss in 2009 and gave the Hornets its toughest challenge in the regular season loss, 66-61.

The Warriors have size, good ballhanders and good shooters. They do a lot of things well and have proven to be a pretty tough foe for the Hornets.

It was a back-and-forth battle the entire way in the lone meeting this year. Nokomis took a 10-0 lead and built a 12-point advantage in the first quarter. Leavitt used a 12-5 run to end the half up 35-28. The Hornets were up by as many as 13 in the third before Nokomis ran off strings of 11 and 10 straight to cut it to two points late in the game.

It won’t be an easy game, but that’s OK. Newton is ready for the challenge.

“The last game was really close,” said Newton. “They have a tall girl and some good shooters. It should be an exciting game. I don’t knew if it will be as close as the York game. Maybe it will. That will be really fun if it is.”

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