By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – When it comes to high school basketball, the junior varsity team doesn’t have an awful lot to shoot for; there are no conference championships and no berths to be had in state tournaments. But the Newtown High jayvee girls basketball team had quite a bit to shoot for last week when it took to the court in the junior varsity version of the Masuk Holiday Tournament.

And with a 48-20 win over Joel Barlow last Friday afternoon, the jayvee ‘Hawks captured one of the few prizes available to them during the 2000-01 season – a tournament title.

Shannon Kohn and Stephanie Logan led the way with 10 points apiece while Julie Iwanicki and Kelley Haines combined for 16 more in the easy win.

The ‘Hawks advanced to the tournament final with a xx-xx win over Masuk last Wednesday. In that game, ……………………

Last Friday, the ‘Hawks wasted little time taking charge of the basketball game. Kohn canned a free throw to start the scoring and then Logan followed with a basket, Kohn had a basket, and Iwanicki and Erin Murdoch each dropped in free throws in a 9-0 run to start the first quarter.

The Falcons came back, though, with a pair of baskets to end the first quarter and another basket to start the second to trim the Newtown lead to 9-6.

The ‘Hawks responded to that, however, with a dominating 30-2 run that went well into the third quarter and placed Newtown in an enviable position with a 39-8 lead. Iwanicki tossed in eight points during the run while Kohn and Haines (who canned a three-pointer) added seven apiece.

To show how dominating the girls were, the ‘Hawks had a 24-8 lead going into the halftime break and then came out all charged up in the third with two foul shots by Haines and baskets by Iwanicki and Christine Manfredonia (both off steals) within the first 15 seconds of the half.

The Falcons made a bit of a push at the close of the third period, hitting one bucket with 48 seconds left and then a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer. That was just the beginning of a 10-0 run that didn’t end until Logan banked a shot in off the break early in the fourth quarter.

The ‘Hawks finished up with a 9-2 run that put the game away and earned them the tournament title. Monica Cluff had five points in that final rally and Logan had four.

Kaitlyn Murphy and Murdoch each had key assists in the game. Cluff finished with five points while Manfredonia had four. Murphy and Murdoch combined for three points.

The two wins put the ‘Hawks at 7-0 on the season – well on their way towards their goal of an undefeated campaign, last accomplished during the 1998-99 season when current varsity players Jayme Beckham, Lori Iwanicki, Lisa Masella, Ally Gellert, and Lauren Adamek were sharpening their games.