Published: March 07, 2008 11:53 pm         

Newsome making her mark

CHARLESTON — When Rebecca Newsome entered the Summers County High School basketball program four years ago, there was no doubt she was a fine athlete.

But a fine basketball player, particularly on the defensive side?

That took some work.

“I hated defense,” the Bobcats’ prime stopper admits. “It wasn’t one of my main roles in middle school.”

Now it is, and she’s one of the best defenders in the state.

That’s being showcased this week at the state tournament in Charleston, where her efforts have helped put top-seeded Summers into today’s 1 p.m. final against No. 3 Lincoln.

Newsome had six steals Friday against No. 5 Weir. She also held Red Riders top scorer Ciara Jones to just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.

That’s nothing unusual for the 5-11 senior forward. She’s shut down opponents all season.

“Now I like playing defense. I like getting the chance to guard the other team’s best player,” she said. “It’s always a challenge to me.”

Newsome has come a long way.

“(As a freshman) I didn’t have a feel for how our program plays defense — a lot of running, working and talking,” she said. “I wasn’t used to that. But I buckled down and really liked it.”

Actually, Newsome needed plenty of work on offense as well. She tended to dribble once, then shoot or pass.

Now she averages 10 points, four assists and three steals for 25-2 Summers.

When teams double-up on state Player of the Year Jolysa Brown or fellow all-stater Emily Blevins, Newsome often comes up with a key shot.

“Becca has shot 57 percent from the floor all season,” coach Wayne Ryan said. “She’s been huge for us.”

Newsome is, in a word, coachable.

“I take pride in where Becca is as a player,” Ryan said. “A lot of kids never accomplish what a coach asks you to do, but she has.”

Newsome would still rather play defense, but she’s not afraid to fire up a 12-footer.

“I don’t think about it that much. I don’t really think, ‘I have to shoot,’” she said. “If I’m open and it feels right, I usually take it.”

Her older sister Olivia played four seasons for Summers, graduating in 2004, and earned third-team all-state honors as a senior.

A 5-5 dynamo of a guard, Olivia was a superb defensive player from the get-go.

Rebecca heard about it.

All the time.

“Everybody really compared me with Olivia and it really got old because I’m obviously not her,” she said. “But I’ve gotten over that.”

Ryan thinks the younger Newsome is equally deserving of all-state honors.

“I’m going to be real disappointed when the all-state team comes out if Becca’s not on the list.”

Newsome isn’t holding her breath, but she wouldn’t mind being all-state.

“If I don’t, it won’t upset me,” she said. “But I would love to know somebody out there thinks I’m doing something good.”

Ryan, who coached Summers to last season’s Class AA state championship, was honored Friday night in a halftime ceremony as the 2007 National Federation of High School Athletic Associations’ Mid-East Region Coach of the Year.

The award is presented by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.

“I’m appreciative of a great coaching staff, my family, my wife Robin and, most of all, our players and their commitment,” Ryan said.