BUFORD, Ga. — For the second consecutive year, the Newton Lady Rams took the trip north to slay the Lady Wolves in Buford Arena. Despite big games from Buford’s best scorers, the Lady Rams were too much to handle in a 64-59 win in the Sweet 16.

When it was all said and done, Zoey Jackson’s 18 points served as the catalyst for Newton to put an end to Buford’s 26-game win streak and its season.

After what ended as another quality game for Jackson, the senior sharpshooter earned praise from her head coach.

“I don't know if I have ever seen a kid as locked in to winning these last five games as I’ve seen Zoey Jackson,” said Newton head coach Jawan Bailey. “Literally everyday she is coming into the gym super focused. She is working her butt off in practice. She is making sure her teammates are ready for the game. It is showing up in the game for her. She is making big time plays offensively [and] defensively. She guarded their best player most of the night. I am super proud of the kid.”

Following a few slow starts in previous outings, the Lady Rams put together one of their best starts of the season.

Moments after tip-off, the ball found its way to Kandice Shepard for a three-pointer.

Then, Mya Perry connected on a three-pointer. A few possessions later, Jackson got in on the action.

Before the Buford fans knew it, Newton was ahead 8-0 and it was not stopping there.

The Lady Wolves tallied 17 of their own points in the opening frame courtesy of E’miah Fields, but they still found themselves trailing by multiple shots.

The main reason was the three-ball for the Lady Rams, which was on full display. Six three-pointers fell for Newton by the end of the first quarter as the team led 26-17 ahead of the second frame.

While he was pleased to see his team converting from the perimeter, Bailey noted how it has allowed his team to dig itself into holes.

“They were just making shots, and that is the scary part for me,” Bailey said. “We have been at that a few times this season where we make shots like that, we  begin to fall in love with the three-ball and we just forget everything else. We did the same exact thing. We started to miss them in the second half and we struggled to score outside of shooting the three-ball. We just had to fight hard to get back into our game plan. But, that fast start pushed us through the game.”

This was evident in the ensuing eight minutes as the Lady Wolves slowly caught up.

After a 26-point opening frame, Newton put 11 on the board in the second frame to Buford’s 18.

As the second quarter progressed, it was clear that Buford was doing all of its damage on the inside.

With sharpshooters such as Fields and Lydia Ledford, Bailey shared his thoughts on limiting the three-pointers from the Lady Wolves.

“I think our defense was set up to take as many threes away as we can, especially from their top shooters,” Bailey said. “I also think a big focus of them was to get inside and draw fouls. I think it was a mixture of both their gameplan and us trying to deter them from shooting.”

As Buford’s three-pointers were nowhere to be found, the hosts put up big numbers from the free throw line.

Newton found itself outnumbered with the fouls extremely early as Buford totaled 14 free throw attempts before London Smith lined up for Newton’s first with a minute left in the second quarter.

By halftime, Newton led 37-35.

One minute into the second half, Ledford drew another foul and sank both shots to tie the game.

Scoring took a step back on both sides to start the second half, but Newton leaned on Jackson to keep the lead.

The two teams went back-and-forth with Newton in front, but Ledford pulled up from deep to tie the game at 37-37 with what was her first three of the game.

However, Jackson answered. The senior took a few dribbles before she sunk a three-pointer and held her pose to let the Lady Wolves’ faithful know.

Buford’s fans showed up, and Bailey credited his team for playing in the hostile environment.

“That’s state playoff basketball,” Baileys said. “We have talked to them about this since the playoffs started. It’s going to come with runs, it’s going to come with crowds being loud, big game changers like foul trouble and everything. We just have to be ready for adversity. We talk about being even-keel all the time — don’t get too high and don’t get too low.”

Jackson’s three put Newton back in front 50-47 ahead of the final quarter.

Newton center Skylar Levell had seven points ahead of the final frame, but the Lady Rams’ junior doubled her total in the final eight minutes.

Buford tried time and time again to push the pace and press, but the Lady Rams continued to thrive on the inbound and vet the ball down the court.

Levell found herself on the reviewing end of multiple passes into the paint and turned into points.

Following a contested layup over two Lady Wolves by Smith, Newton stole the ball from Ledford and it was dished to Levell for a layup that made it a 62-56 lead.

Seconds later, Ledford connected from deep to cut the lead in half at 62-59. However, that shot proved to be the final points of the year for Buford.

The Lady Rams completed a perfect inbound pass that found its way past the defense and into the hands of Jasmin Maddox for a layup.

Following the shot from Maddox, Newton found a way to get the ball back before it ran out the remaining seconds to win and advance.

With a 64-59 win, Newton defeated Buford on the road in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The last two times the Lady Wolves have lost in Buford Arena, it has been at the hands of the Lady Rams.

Jackson’s 18 points led Newton as she connected on four three-pointers. Levell and Mya Perry finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Albeit in a loss, Ledford and Fields totaled 20 points apiece in the defeat. 

With the win, Newton’s girls basketball team won its seventh consecutive playoff matchup, but perhaps their toughest test awaits in the Elite Eight.

The Lady Rams will travel to North Paulding to take on the No. 1 ranked Lady Wolfpack Tuesday, March 3.

The team two battled at the start of the season and North Paulding grabbed a 63-53 win at Charles Drew High School.

With a premier matchup in the state up next, Bailey shared what he expects to see.

“Great team that plays extremely well together,” Bailey said. “Extremely well-coached. For me, I am just looking for the challenge. The chance to dissect their team and find a game plan that works for us and get my team ready to go out and compete at the highest level. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state, we are expecting to have a good battle.”