By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – A couple weeks ago Newtown had to travel over to Redding with a depleted lineup and a thin bench to take on Joel Barlow and all the Lady Nighthawks did was slap a 34-point defeat on the Lady Falcons.

On Tuesday night, the ‘Hawks and Falcons met once again, in the first round of the annual Masuk Holiday Tournament, but this time the Newtown lineup was solidly packed and the bench was as strong as it has ever been.

So prospects didn’t look for good for the Lady Falcons.

They weren’t.

The Lady Nighthawks jumped out to a very early 8-0 lead and breezed all the way to a 62-31 win as three players scored in double figures. The win – which pushed Newtown’s record to 6-0, their best start since 1993 – set the stage for a Thursday confrontation (after press time) in the tournament championship against the undefeated Masuk Pantherettes.

Kate Ryan led all scorers with 15 points as Ally Gellert and Lori Iwanicki added 10 points apiece.

But it was Lisa Masella who got the offense moving right away, scoring a couple quick baskets in the low blocks to stake Newtown to a fast, 4-0 lead. After Jayme Beckham canned a pair of free throws and Gellert tossed in a baseline jumper, the Lady Nighthawks were rolling right along with an 8-0 lead.

Masella would come back later in the quarter with another post basket and Ryan and Beckham would follow with 12-foot jumpers as the ‘Hawks finished up the first eight minutes with a 14-6 advantage.

Ryan scored six points early in the second quarter to push the Lady Nighthawks’ lead to 21-8 before Barlow scored five unanswered points to trim Newtown’s lead to fewer than 10 points, 21-13, for the last time all evening. Ryan – who scored eight points in the second quarter alone – got Newtown rolled again with a baseline jumper. Iwanicki and Gellert both canned a pair of free throws as the ‘Hawks went into the break with a 27-13 lead.

The Newtown press had been causing some problems for Joel Barlow all night but it was the Barlow press in the early stages of the third quarter which was causing some confusion. It befuddled Newtown a little bit but it didn’t stop the Lady Nighthawks from opening the third on a 13-2 run that staked their lead to 39-15. Masella scored again from the low box, Gellert snuck in behind the defense on a nice inbounds play, and then Iwanicki drained a long jumper from just inside the arc to further emphasize the versatility of the Newtown offense.

One of the nicest plays of the third quarter was a spinning scoop shot in the lane by Haines which concluded that 13-2 Newtown run.

In the fourth quarter, with the game firmly in hand, the Lady Nighthawks scored 20 more points – but only half of those from the field – to overwhelm the Lady Falcons. Ryan and Mary Bell each had a pair of buckets (Bell scored six points in the fourth period alone) and Iwanicki and Gellert added a bucket apiece, but a lot of the damage was also done at the foul line as Barlow fought to find some way to slow the Newtown offense down.

The win sets the stage for a confrontation with Masuk, which raised its own record to 6-0 with a 68-65 win over Warren Harding.

Trim Kolbe-Cathedral

The Nighthawks had a little trouble with the press last week against Kolbe-Cathedral – which went into the game sporting a 5-0 record – but still managed to squeeze out a 52-48 win. The ‘Hawks shot 8-of-11 from the foul line in the final eight minutes to secure the win.

Masella led all scored with 17 points and Ryan chipped in with 14.

NHS   14       11       10       17       - 52

KOLBE         8        16       10       14       - 48

NEWTOWN (52): Beckham 2 0-0 4, Ryan 5 4-4 14, Masella 6 5-7 17, Gellert 0 4-6 4, Haines 1 1-2 3, Iwanicki 2 2-4 6, Adamek 0 0-0 0, Bell 0 0-0 0, Oswald 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 16-23 52.

KOLBE (48): Gordon 1 0-0 2, Griffin 5 0-0 11, Flemming 3 0-0 7, Bonner 1 2-2 4, Fidalgo 0 0-0 0, Jeffries 3 2-2 10, Cabarl 1 2-6 4, Miller 0 0-0 0, Williamson 4 2-3 10. Totals: 18 8-13 48.

Three-point field goals: Jeffries (K) 2, Fleming (K), Griffin (K).

 

NHS    14  13  15   20 - 62

BARLOW       6        7        8        10       - 31

NEWTOWN (62): Beckham 1 3-4 5, Ryan 7 1-2 15, Masella 4 1-4 9, Gellert 3 4-5 10, Haines 1 2-2 4, Iwanicki 2 6-8 10, Adamek 0 1-2 1, Bell 2 4-5 8, Oswald 0 0-0 0.Totals: 20 22-32 62.

JOEL BARLOW (31): Doeberl 5 3-4 13, Gondossy 1 1-2 3, Parker 0 0-0 0, Magee 1 0-1 2, Hickling 0 0-3 0, Hawkins 1 2-2 4, Hiel 1 3-8 5, Reeese 0 0-0 0, Hrdina 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 9-20 31.

Three-point field goals: none