By Daniel Carney
Sports Reporter

Junior guard Emily Chang scored her 1,000th point as a member of Newton South girls’ basketball team Thursday night as the DCL Champions defeated Marshfield 49-46 to move on to the next round of the playoffs.

“It felt really relieving”,  Chang said on her special night. “It’s a great achievement, but now I’m focused on the next goal, which is to continue advancing through the postseason.

“I knew going into tonight that playoffs are much more different than any regular season game, and I thought, if I got it tonight, great, but if I don’t and we win, that is fine with me too.”

Though Chang without question took home the most special moment of the game, freshman guard Veronica Burton was South’s biggest overall contributor.

The talented guard finished with a game-high 26 points, pushing the Lions to victory with four 3-pointers in the postseason’s opening matchup. Chang, who was guarded tightly by Marshfield all night, finished with five points on five free throws. Entering the game, she needed just four points to tackle the incredible milestone.

The Lions, who usually take a lead in the first quarter and then expand it, had a close game for the majority of action. After a strong first quarter from both squads, Marshfield held a slim 14-12 lead.

The Rams started off with the momentum, scoring the first four points of the game and leading by as much as eight points in the first quarter. South rallied around Burton, who scored eight in the opening quarter, and trailed by just two going into another crucial eight minutes.

Behind nine second quarter points from Burton, Newton South took a 28-25 lead into the halftime break.

Emily Chang scored her first point of the game in the second, a free throw, and now was just a 3-pointer away from number 1,000. South, holding a three-point lead going into a fresh half, looked to build their lead and come out with another impressive victory.

Marshfield didn’t let the Lions grab the momentum they wanted, practically having their way with them on both sides of the ball down the stretch and took a 37-36 lead by the end of a low-scoring third quarter.

The stage was set for an intense and competitive final quarter of postseason basketball.

The game stayed close, and at some points in the final frame, it looked like the Lions were going to run away with it, but Marshfield stuck around until the end.

With just under two minutes remaining, Chang hit a free throw and her fourth total point of the game to hit number 1,000. The Brown University-committed standout was honored on the court when the game was paused momentarily and given a standing ovation from the massive crowd as she stood at center court savoring the moment with her teammates.

With 30.6 seconds left, Burton sunk two free throws to give South a 49-44 advantage. Burton later committed a foul on the other end and had to sit, tallying her fifth and final foul of the game.

As a substitution came in, the Rams made a shot in the paint, cutting the lead to three with time still remaining. Marshfield put it on the offensive end one more time, taking a desperation 3-pointer that ended up sailing over the top of the basket. The Lions were fouled, and after Marshfield missed another long-distance attempt, South sealed the 49-46 win.

Sophomore guard Sarah King finished with nine points, while senior forward Roni Tamir added four points in the team’s postseason win.

“We didn’t play our best game, and we didn’t do well on the little things that we’ve been working on all year long”, Chang said.  “We didn’t play the smartest but I feel that we did play with a lot of hustle.

“The win was one of my biggest goals, and I’m happy that I ended up being able to achieve both with my team.”

After the final buzzer sounded, Chang was honored again at mid-court, but this time by her head coach Sam Doner. She was awarded a trophy commemorating her monumental achievement – an achievement that has only been grasped by three other players in Newton South history.

The Lions will next face top-seeded Braintree – a 71-44 winner against Brockton in the quarterfinals – in the D-1 South semifinals at a date and time that is still uncertain as of Friday.