PIGEON FORGE-Lenoir City’s up-tempo style and hot shooting were enough to end Newport Grammar’s run in the quarterfinal round of the TMSAA Class AA East Sectionals.

The Panthers finished with a 49-26 win, and it was the second half where they made a huge run.

The full court pressure from Lenoir City was just too much to handle on a consistent basis, and even when the Warriors did break the pressure, they had a difficult time in their half court sets.

In the loss, Santana Haney was the only Warrior in double figures with 10 points.

“We kept playing their pace of game rather than breaking the press patiently, which is hard to do obviously because they’re putting the pressure on you,” Newport Grammar head coach Steve Souder said. “But we wanted to break it patiently because they would get back in a 2-3 (zone) and then we could run our offense.”

For the full story, see the February 7th edition of the Newport Plain Talk.