More than just bragging rights are on the line for Friday night’s Newton/Tucker matchup. Tucker, which was added to Region 2-AAAAAA this year, is pretty much a powerhouse in every high school sport and that doesn’t change in basketball.

Both Tucker’s boys (9-0) and Newton’s boys (8-0) are undefeated. The Lady Rams are 6-2, including a 1-0 region record. The Lady Tigers of Tucker, the defending state champions, are 4-4 and 1-0 in region play.

Lady Rams

“With them being defending state champions there’s a certain level of knowledge on the floor and they have an understanding of what’s supposed to be going on on the floor,” Tiffani Johnson, Newton head coach, said.

“There’s been a little bit of hype with us winning the region last year and them doing really well. Knowing that, we’re definitely going to be competitive against each other,” Johnson added.

Johnson says there’s been plenty of things said on social media about this matchup. She knows that it comes with high expectations and emotions on both sides.

“I like playing with the hype because the further we go, the better we’ll be prepared. We always want to create a tough home environment for our opponents when they come in. I think we’ve been doing a great job of that,” Johnson said.

“Our fan base has been amazing this year so they’re kind of familiar with Tucker and knowing that’s a big game for both the boys and the girls. I think they’ll come out and do very well. The crowd will be good which will be definitely be on our side,” Johnson said.

Tucker lost a number of its players from last year’s team, but with two seniors and seven juniors the Lady Tigers are reloading, not rebuilding.

Johnson offered three keys to beating Tucker: free throws, defense and rebounds. Johnson also mentioned that she’d like to force as many turnovers as possible and turn those turnovers into points for Newton.

“It’s still early in the season so we’re focused on our opponents, but we really just try to do the things that we do well,” Johnson said. “Right now, when we do those things that we do and we execute it’s been good for us. So we’re focused on what we do and making a couple of adjustments for Tucker, but if we play Lady Ram basketball we should be okay.”

Rams

Although Tucker’s boys weren’t state champions last year, they did manage to make it to the third round of the playoffs. Newton is coming off a first round exit last year, but the Rams are prepared for a region championship and possibly a deep playoff run. To do that, they have to go through Tucker.

The Tigers have a distinct height advantage over Newton and a lot of experience. Of Tucker’s starting lineup, four players are 6-foot-2 or taller. The Tigers have nine seniors on a very talented team.

Newton head coach, Rick Rasmussen said he doesn’t want to let Tucker run, his team has to box out and take care of the ball.

“We’ve got to get back in transition and protect the basket or its dunk city,” Rasmussen said. “We don’t want to let them run, so in that regard some of that’s typical for what we want to do anyway. But you gotta be extra careful. Gambling is going to be expensive if you gamble and miss. You’ve got to stay between them and the basket and be careful you don’t let somebody go over the top of you.”

“That means that we’ve got to be selective offensively. If you rush and take quick, bad shots, you’re just going to feed their fast break. They’re not just long, they’re quick,” Rasmussen added.

Newton beat Alcovy handedly, in a 70-51 win. The postgame message from Rasmussen after a blowout victory over rival Alcovy? The things they have to do better to beat Tucker.

“To keep a streak like we have going – which we’ve done before – you’ve got to stay focused on improvement,” Rasmussen said.

Newton faces Tucker Friday beginning at 6 p.m. with the girls and 7:30 p.m. for the boys.