Suffocating defense and a hot start on offense was all Newman needed in its Three Rivers East opener Thursday night against Mendota .

The Comets built a big lead with a strong first quarter, then used another huge surge around halftime to cruise to an 82-14 victory over the visiting Trojans.

Newman (5-2, 1-0 TRAC East) opened the game on a 26-1 run over the first 5:40 and never looked back. The Comets forced nine first-quarter turnovers and shot 11-for-17 to take a 30-5 by the end of the first quarter.

“It was really great to get it started like that, because then everybody can just breathe and loosen up a little bit,” said Anna Propheter, who scored a career-high 22 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting night and added four rebounds and three steals.

The Comets finished the game wi

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