IAC GIRLS BASKETBALL: S-VE HAS ROUGH DEBUT IN LOSS TO NEWFIELD (2018-12-05)

Tioga County Sports Report
NEWFIELD - Spencer-Van Etten had a rough debut here Tuesday evening in a 63-37 IAC South Small School loss to Newfield.  

With most of last year's team gone, the Panthers will gain much-needed experience as they progress through the season.

"We were plagued with turnovers," said S-VE head coach Abby Gentile. "It was the first time these girls experienced this kind of pressure without the guards that graduated last year and we just weren't able to calm ourselves down in the first half."

S-VE turned the ball over 32 times on the night - 24 giveaways coming in the first half.

In addition to that, the Trojans' Katie Moravec scored 19 of her game-high 31 points before halftime. Newfield outscored S-VE, 22-9, in the first quarter and led 39-16 at the break.

"We did a much better job in the third quarter, and I can see that this group of girls will have a very steep learning curve," Gentile said. "Losing four starters is tough and we are figuring out where each girl will work best for us, but it won't take long for them to click."

Moravec added another eight points in the third period, but the Panthers matched Newfield's output with each team scoring 14.

"You can tell from last night that it was our first game as opposed to their third," Gentile said.

Madelyn Pasto scored 12 points for S-VE, Paige Grube had 10 points and two steals, and Ava Bruehwiler contributed seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tara Perkins chipped in with six points and five boards.

S-VE hosts Odessa-Montour in a divisional game Friday.