Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week – Payton Newman

School – Neshannock

Class – Senior

Height – 5-foot-9

Position – Forward

#Earned – Payton Newman has been a three-sport star in recent years at Neshannock.

She played volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring.

However, heading into her senior year, she decided to put her athletic focus on her true love, basketball.

While the decision may have caused Lancers foes in volleyball and softball to breathe a sigh of relief, it has been a whole heap of bad news for Neshannock hardcourt opponents.

Newman supplied the power inside for the Lancers, as she finished the regular season with 365 points scored for an average of 17.4 points per game.

She topped her average twice last week for Class 2A top-seeded Neshannock.

In a first-round rout of Brentwood, Newman netted 22 points before turning spectator in a 60-point victory over the Spartans.

Up next was rival Laurel, which Neshannock defeated twice in the regular season by 32 and 47 points.

The third meeting wasn’t much different as the Lancers led the Spartans, 31-5, after one quarter.

It was business as usual for Newman as she scored a game-high 24 points in the 38-point victory.

Another Section 1-2A foe awaits Neshannock in the semifinals Tuesday as the Lancers prepare to battle No. 5 Rochester.

The Lancers won back-to-back WPIAL championships in 2021 and 2022 when Newman was in middle school.

Neshannock moved up to Class 3A the next two years and fell in the quarterfinals and semifinals in her first two years in a Lancers’ uniform.

As a junior last year back in Class 2A, Neshannock reached the finals against Aliquippa in the finals at Petersen Events Center.

Newman had a game-high 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, but the Lancers fell to the Quips, 54-51.

Newman will continue her basketball and academic career at Saint Vincent.

While her college focus is on basketball, her older sister Hunter is a junior who plays softball at Morgan State.

2026 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Players of the Week

Week 5 – Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson

Week 4 – Alexis Cashdollar, Mars

Week 3 – Mimi Thiero, Quaker Valley

Week 2 – Erica Gribble, Greensburg Central Catholic

Week 1 – Karis Thomas, Shady Side Academy