TOWN AND COUNTRY –Zoe Newland patiently awaited her turn.
For three quarters, the Pattonville senior point guard guided the Pirates’ offense and ensured that her teammates found available shots.
Then the fourth quarter became hers.
Newland scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the final quarter as Pattonville rallied from a second half deficit to defeat Parkway West 50-40 Saturday in the first round of the Visitation Academy Christmas Basketball Tournament.
No. 6 seed Pattonville (5-1) advanced in the winner’s bracket and will face No. 3 seed Cardinal Ritter (6-1) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
No. 11 Parkway West (5-3) moved to the consolation side and will face No. 14 Visitation (3-5) at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
A 10-0 run by Pattonville to start the third quarter was answered with a 13-0 run by Parkway West, and the Pirates clung a 39-35 lead heading into the final frame.
That is when Newland took over.
After Pattonville spread the floor and ran 90 seconds off the clock, Newland drove into the paint, spun and drained a 14-foot turnaround jumper.
“The spin-around jumpers, just like they’re from Kobe. I’ve been practicing them,” Newland said with a smile.
On the ensuing possession, Newland entered the lane and sank a step-back jumper from almost the same spot. A steal and breakaway layup gave her a personal 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter and built a 45-35 lead for Pattonville.
“Newland is special,” Pattonville coach Don Boyce said. “As far as high school and one-on-one settings, it’s going to be hard for someone to contain her, especially at the top of the key.”
To begin the game, Parkway West devised a unique plan to try to contain the dribble penetration skill of Newland and her teammates. The Longhorns unveiled a brand new 2-3 zone, which caused turnovers on the first four possessions and held the Pirates scoreless for the opening six minutes.
“We are not a zone team,” Parkway West coach Brett Katz said. “We played 100 percent man-to-man this season, but with Pattonville’s ability to drive it, we thought maybe we’d have to fill some gaps and play some 2-3 (zone) to try to frustrate them a little bit, and it worked out.”
Pattonville played its own stellar defense to begin the game, and Newland’s corner three in the final 10 seconds gave the Pirates a modest 5-4 lead after the first quarter.
“I think it was first-game jitters,” Boyce said. “This is such a prestigious tournament and we just had to settle down a little bit. Once we settled down, we were able to get things going.”
It was junior Hannah Fenton who got it going for Pattonville. She drained a left-wing triple to open the second quarter, then made a steal in the backcourt and converted an old-fashioned three-point play as the Pirates built a 20-13 lead.
Fenton scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter to ignite a struggling Pattonville offense.
“Defense was the main thing that got us going, putting pressure on them,” Fenton said. “Based on my energy, the rest of the team filled in and kept it going.”
Pattonville, which took a 24-20 lead into halftime, used a combination of full court pressure and a half court zone to stymie the Longhorns’ offense after intermission.
A breakaway layup by Fenton, a pull-up jumper by Newland and a smooth putback by junior Kennedy Horton spurred a 10-0 run and gave the Pirates a 34-22 lead.
“After halftime, we came out with a different kind of mindset, different energy, and it just elevated us,” Horton said.
But Parkway West soon embarked on a run of its own. A pair of baskets by freshman Ella McNeal sparked it, a three-ball by sophomore Elena Potsou continued it, and a series of strong post moves by junior Siena Snyder punctuated a 13-0 run that gave the Longhorns a 35-34 lead.
Snyder led Parkway West with 16 points.
“That was pretty exciting,” Katz said. “We were playing with a lot of confidence. We made some exciting plays and the gym was feeling that, ‘Hey, the 6 seed is on the ropes, here,’ It was fun while it was going on.”
But out of a timeout, Horton hit a huge, right-wing three to reclaim the lead for Pattonville.
“They were backed off, and I was just in the moment,” Horton said.
A Brooke Boyce jumper closed out the quarter, and the one-on-one excellence of Newland provided the late surge that ultimately sealed the win for Pattonville.
“I just wanted to get my team involved throughout the whole game and then my shots would come, and they did in the fourth quarter,” Newland said.