TURNER — After experiencing the end of a 30-game winning streak, the reigning Class B champion Leavitt Area High School girls’ basketball team didn’t get mad. It got realistic.

“I think we actually thought we couldn’t lose,” Leavitt junior Kristen Anderson said. “And as soon as we lost at Camden Hills, I don’t think any of us were that upset. We know we don’t have to go undefeated to win a state championship.”

The title defense appeared to be back on track Tuesday night in a convincing 76-46 KVAC victory over solid, tournament-bound Medomak Valley.

Anderson erupted for 27 points, 10 assists, seven steals and five rebounds.

Leavitt (9-1) won easily with the other half of its usual one-two offensive punch, 1,000-point scorer Adrianna Newton, sidelined most of the night in foul trouble. Newton still managed 17 points in 15 minutes.

The Hornets’ second straight win since a 68-60 defeat at Camden one week ago at least temporarily moved Leavitt to the top of the Western Class B Heal Points, pending the result of Tuesday’s Lake Region-York contest.

“It kind of helped give us an identity for this year’s team,” Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson said of the Camden loss. “We were trying to play like last year’s team, and it’s a different team. It’s still a very, very good team, and we know we have just as good a chance to win a state championship as anybody else.”

Leavitt eclipsed the 75-point mark for the seventh time. Anderson and Newton combined for 16 out of the gate to give the Hornets a 25-16 edge after one quarter.

Newton picked up her third foul with 7:13 remaining in the half, setting the stage for an Anderson show.

The 5-foot-7 guard finished the first half with 20, including three 3-pointers from 25 feet and beyond.

Alanna Vose led the Panthers (6-3) with 18 points, all but four in the first half. Mallory Conary added 11 points and eight rebounds. Hannah Marks chipped in offf the bench with nine points and eight caroms.

Anderson finished with five treys. That actually represented progress for Medomak, which watched her drain eight on its home floor in last year’s meeting.

“You don’t want to take Adrianna Newton out of there for very long,” said Tammy Anderson, Kristen’s mother. “Kristen’s role this season is a little different. She’s leading the league in assists. She’s putting other people in good position to score.”

Others filled the void. Senior Sarah Frost scored all eight of her points in the first half to go with nine rebounds and four steals. Another four-year veteran, Amanda Jordan, amassed seven points, seven boards and four assists.

Mariah Treadwell added five points and Kasidy Stevenson, Meagan Dow and Kendra Gilbert four apiece for Hornets, who forced 34 Medomak turnovers.

Leavitt led 41-26 at the half.

“This is an important week for us because a lot of the teams we’ve beaten weren’t worth a lot of (Heal) points,” Kristen Anderson said. “We at least want to make the tournament.”

She laughed, surely realizing there is no real danger of that.

In addition to moving two or three spots up the ladder thanks to the win over Medomak, Leavitt is scheduled to host unbeaten Gardiner on Thursday.

“We’ve been hit hard this year. Everybody wants to beat you,” Tammy Anderson said. “I thought losing to Camden might take a little bit of that away, but it really hasn’t. Our kids always play aggressive. That isn’t going to change.”

koakes@sunjouirnal.com

Copy the Story Link