The Newton-Conover Red Devils were the 50-38 winner over the South Caldwell Spartans when they last played one another back in December of 2021, but their luck changed this time around. Newton-Conover took a hard 52-36 fall against South Caldwell on Thursday. While losing is never fun, Newton-Conover can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 438th, while South Caldwell is ranked 193rd).
When it comes to explaining why Newton-Conover lost, one person who can't be blamed is Sara Sain. Despite the final result, she scored 15 points along with five rebounds. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Barnes, who scored 12 points.
Newton-Conover struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
South Caldwell was led to victory by Kristin Barber and Lillie Bumgarner. Barber scored 18 points, while Bumgarner scored 20 points. The game was Bumgarner's tenth in a row with at least ten points. Kennedy Setzer was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Newton-Conover are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-9. As for South Caldwell, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.
Newton-Conover won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Bunker Hill at 9:00 a.m. on December 29th. Hopefully Bunker Hill focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 31 on Thursday. South Caldwell won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Maiden at 12:00 p.m. on December 29th. Hopefully Maiden focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Thursday.
