Lady Cubs fall in season opener 55-37

OLNEY— Newcastle High School’s press defense seemed to make the difference Tuesday as the Lady Bobcats defeated Olney 55-37.

Thanks to a few timely turnover, forced by their press defense in the first quarter, the Lady Bobcats  held Olney scoreless through most of the first quarter while mounting a 13-0 lead.

“We did well with the press ... We have a real desire to get after you,” Newcastle coach James King said. “We’re lucky we’re quick because we looked really rough tonight, but you could see they really wanted to win.”

Newcastle senior forward Hannah Birdwell and senior guard Holly Manos, who lead Newcastle in scoring with 18 points, were the Lady Bobcats’ 1-2 punch Tuesday night as they took advantage of numerous Olney turnovers on poor passes.  Midway through the first quarter, the Lady Cubs snapped Newcastle’s 13-0 run with senior forward Geri Heath, who led Olney in scoring with 10 points, scoring the Lady Cubs’ first points. Olney would chip away at Newcastle’s lead throughout the game, but following a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Jae Montgomery the Lady Bobcats scored another 13 unanswered points to seal their victory.

“We know where our weaknesses are and we have to keep improving on those,” Olney coach Jimmy Toney said. “... The girls always beat themselves up when they make a mistake. They get down on themselves and it takes them a second to get out of that funk. We dug a hole and they were shocked. It’s the first game and a lot of girls were put into a position they had never found themselves before.”

Newcastle will next take its 1-0 record into Albany for a Saturday morning tilt while Olney will have a week to improve before going on the road to face Chico Tuesday night.