By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – It was four minutes into the second quarter of Newtown’s first-round matchup with Masuk in the 19th annual Masuk Holiday Tournament and the Nighthawks needed help. A 12-point lead had dissolved to just two and it looked as if the ‘Hawks were unraveling just a little bit.

Then Lisa Masella grabbed a beautiful pass from Lori Iwanicki to stop the Panthers 10-0 run and Jayme Beckham and Iwanicki followed with steals and coast-to-coast layups to expand the Nighthawks’ lead back to eight points, 25-17.

It proved to be enough of a cushion. Masuk never got closer than three points the rest of the way and the Nighthawks defeated the Panthers, 49-41, and were able to overcome another one of their major challenges for the 2000-01 season.

The Nighthawks went to 6-0 with the win.

Going into Monroe has often proved to be a hazardous journey for Newtown. More times than the ‘Hawks are willing to count, they have left the the Masuk gym with a loss – like last year, when the ‘Hawks fell to the Panthers in the holiday tournament final.

But Newtown is a stronger team now – stronger even than the one which captured the South-West Conference championship less than 12 months ago – and is on a mission to repeat.

Iwanicki led all scorers with 18 points but Morgan Haines scored nine points – and all nine came in the first and second quarters as the Nighthawks built up their 19-7 lead. With Newtown down 2-0, Haines started things off with a three-point basket and then, along the way, added three more buckets to fuel the offense.

Iwanicki had four points and Amanda Marsilio, Masella and Beckham had two points each as the ‘Hawks – doing a superb job inside, off the glass – built up a convincing lead.

It was at that point that the Panthers altered their defensive focus, shifting from a zone to a man-to-man defense. And it did the trick, as the ‘Hawks got a little sloppy and the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to just two, 19-17.

Then came Iwanicki’s pass to Masella.

The steal by Beckham.

The steal by Iwanicki.

The Panthers had gotten as close as they would all night, but from that moment on it would continue to be a close and exciting contest as the Newtown lead did not get higher than nine points and did not get closer than two points.

So there was a lot of wiggle room in there.

With the ‘Hawks ahead, 26-17, Masuk got right back into the game with a three-point basket from Katie Reynolds, a foul shot, and another basket that trimmed the Newtown lead to 26-23.

But Ally Gellert made a steal at half court and went in for the layup to close out the first half.

The third quarter was a low-scoring affair, with Newtown gaining just one point on Masuk. The ‘Hawks scored six of their eight points from the foul line (Iwanicki was 4-for-4 and Jayme Beckham was 2-of-4) and got their only field goal on a Marsilio shot in the low blocks.

The ‘Hawks went into the fourth period nursing a six-point lead, 36-30.

That lead quickly expanded to eight points when Iwanicki took a back door pass from Gellert for an easy layup. But the Panthers took advantage of four consecutive missed foul shots by the ‘Hawks and narrowed the lead back to four, 38-34.

The Panthers stayed as close as three points with just 2:36 left to play when Newtown tossed a couple of passes away. But Iwanicki came up with a big rebound after two missed shots and put the ‘Hawks ahead by six, 44-38, with 2:12 to go. That lead expanded to eight with 1:05 to go when Iwanicki added a pair of free throws.

As time ticked off the clock, Newtown and Masuk traded points (the last four at the foul line) and Gellert finished things off with 16 seconds left with a pair of her own foul shots.

It was over and the ‘Hawks had survived a tough battle against a very good foe. But their coolness under pressure, their presence under the basket with Marsilio, Masella and Iwanicki, their ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor, and their defense were all factors in their ultimate success.

NOTE: Joel Barlow defeated Warren Harding, 57-39, in the other preliminary match-up in the Masuk Holiday Tournament to advance to the tournament final against Newtown (see related story).

 

NEWTOWN (49): Gellert 1 2-2 4, M. Haines 3 2-2 9, L. Iwanicki 4 11-13 18, Marsilio 2 0-0 4, Beckham 2 3-9 7, K. Haines 0 0-0 0, Masella 3 1-2 7, Adamek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 18-27 49.

MASUK (41): Reynolds 4 1-2 10, Antinozzi 4 0-0 8, Martinik 1 5-5 7, Moyse 4 1-3 9, Larrow 1 0-0 2, McDermott 0 0-0 0, Fico 0 0-0 0, Martinik 2 0-0 4, Cappellieri 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 8-12 41.

Three-point goals: M. Haines (N), Reynolds (M).