Girls’ Basketball—

Nighthawks Beat Abbot Tech, Brookfield To Win Holiday Hoops Classic

By Steve Bigham

The NHS girls’ basketball team finally experienced the sweet taste of victory last week as it beat Abbot Tech and Brookfield to capture the inaugural SWC Holiday Classic.

The Nighthawks were in a sort of reloading mode heading into the season after losing several key players from a year ago. And after starting the season 0-5 against some tough opponents, the girls were looking for some sort of confidence builder, anything to get them over the hump.

And as 2008 begins, Shawn O’Brien’s team suddenly has a well-deserved kick in its step. Newtown easily defeated Brookfield, 54-38 in the finals last Friday night in a game that featured some impressive shooting by the locals. They made a season-high eight 3-pointers. Just as impressive was Newtown’s defense on Brookfield star Brittany Martelle, who was held well below her scoring average.

Newtown is a talented, but inexperienced team that is literally learning on the job in a league where that is not always easy. But it now has a tournament title to call its own.

“We’re hoping this is a turning point in our season. We came into this tournament to win it and the girls were really excited,” O’Brien said. “We had a very difficult schedule to start the year and we lost a couple of tough ones. This helps get our feel under us.”

Against Brookfield, the Nighthawks were on fire from downtown. Nora Lynn Shimko and Sarah Kelley each buried three 3-point shots and Katie Power added two. Hitting from outside will be key to Newtown’s success as it will open things up down low for center Morgan Knees, the team’s only big player.

In the tourney finals, Shimko finished with 12 points, Kelley added 11, and Katie Condon scored 10.

Condon’s defense may have been even more important than her scoring. She teamed up with Kate Bowen in defending Martelle, who was coming off games of 32, 25, and 19 points. In the finals, she was held to just 11 as the two Newtown guards stayed on her like glue.

Newtown advanced to the finals by defeating Abbott Tech 48-12. This was the first year of the SWC Tip-off. Newtown will host the tournament next year.

Newtown opened the season against some tough opponents, losing to Joel Barlow, last year’s state champion, and Pomperaug, last year’s league champion. It also fell short against Masuk, a perennial powerhouse, and Lauralton Hall, this year’s favorite to win it all.

Newtown opened SWC play with a tough 43-40 loss to Bunnell of Stratford. Trailing 40-28 early in the fourth quarter, the Nighthawks used a 12-2 run to make it interesting, but came up short down the stretch.

“This was a tough loss because the way things are shaping up; Bunnell is a team we’ll be battling for one of the top eight playoff spots,” O’Brien said.

Newtown also fell short at home against Masuk, 55-46, in a nonconference game December 19, despite holding a three-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Masuk outscored the locals 21-9 in the final eight minutes, making 11 of 12 foul shots to deal the victory. Knees led the way for Newtown with 12 points and Kelley added 10.

With Knees being the team’s only player with size, juniors Jen Brewer and Jordyn Good have had to help out down low despite giving up several inches. Nevertheless, both have stepped up big.

“We’re not counting on them to score a lot of points, but to defend and rebound and they’ve done an outstanding job,” O’Brien said.

The Nighthawks were scheduled to face a tough Kolbe Cathedral team January 2 at the Cardinal Sheehan Center in Bridgeport.

Newtown opened the season with a close-fought loss to defending state champion Joel Barlow. It then fell 61-31 to the very talented Lauralton Hall. The Nighthawks then traveled to Southbury to take on defending SWC champion Pomperaug. In a 70-47 loss, senior captain Katie Power scored a career high 16 points, including four 3 pointers.

Despite the tough schedule, Newtown’s goals remain the same: earn a trip to the league and state postseason tournaments. And there’s nothing like winning an early-season trophy to help gain a little confidence and O’Brien believes it will translate into wins down the road.