By Kim J. Harmon

WOODBURY – The 2003-04 basketball season got off to a fine start for Newtown Middle School.

In a doubleheader at the Woodbury Middle School on Friday afternoon, the Lady Lions cruised to a 37-27 win behind a dominating 19-point effort by Morgan Knees and then the Lions rolled to a 60-37 win as 10 different players scored at least two points (with Pete Cochrane the only player in double figures).

NMS will not return to the floor until after the holidays (January 6 at Memorial), but the early look at the two teams certainly is promising.

Now, while most of the girls were working out the kinks in their first action of the 2003-04 season, Morgan Knees appeared to be in midseason form. A dominating inside presence, it seemed almost too easy for her at times.

Yes, 19 points. Not a bad way to start.

Head coach Bill Girard is hoping to get contributions from lots of different players, though. He will look to his four captains – Katie Condon, Bridie Rubino, Hannah Tenenbaum and Kelley Tenney – to lead the way.

Condon is a quick, aggressive point guard who has a quick release and an accurate shot Rubino shoots well, but can also pull down a rebound. Tenenbaum is one of the best shooters on the team and a strong leader in the transition. And Tenney is strong at the point or on the wing, with exceptional skills.

That’s the core of the team. Against Woodbury, Tenenbaum had five points and Condon had a pair.

Coach Girard will also look to Joanna Barry (athletic and aggressive, runs and jumps well with a nice shot), Jen Brill (strong runner with an improving shot, moves well in transition), Colleen Murphy (a one or a two, is quick down the floor with strong transition instincts), Caitlin O’Handley (steady at the four or five, quick to the hoop with a good left hand), Katie Schmidt (very athletic, strong at all positions) and Megan Trosan (strong off the boards with good anticipation) for contributions.

In the season opener, the Lady Lions fell into a 7-3 hole before finally putting it together. Schmidt popped in a shot and Tenenbaum added one on the fast break to enable the Lady Lions to tie the score. Knees then put back a shot to give the locals a lead they would not relinquish.

O’Handley started the Lady Lions off in the second period with a baseline jumper and then Knees 10 of her game-high 19 points to stake the locals to a 21-12 lead. Woodbury did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Condon, Schmidt and Tenenbaum all contributed buckets in the second half.

After a doubleheader on January 6 at Memorial Middle School in Middlebury, the girls will be in Bethel on January 8 (the eighth-grade team tipping off at 3:30 pm and the seventh-grade team tipping off at 5 pm).

Now, on to the boys –

The 2002-03 version of the boys’ basketball team was, perhaps, one of the finest the school has ever known. But while a strong, strong core of three or four players anchored that team, it looks like everyone is going to get involved in 2003-04.

In the 60-37 win over Woodbury, 10 different players scored at least 10 points. Pete Cochrane led Newtown with 10 markers as Greg Rodden, Dylan Clark, and Dan Smith chipped in with eight points apiece. Erik Dreher had seven, Greg Larnerd had six and Mike Maher had five.

That’s balance.

And it enabled the Lions to jump out to a 17-0 lead in the first period. After Cochrane scored six unanswered points late in the second quarter, the Lions were up as much as 24 points (33-9) when Woodbury popped in a late three-pointer to close out the half.

That three offered fans a little foreshadowing of what was to come. Woodbury went on a 16-2 run to start the second half and whittled the Newtown lead down to just seven points, 35-28, and all of a sudden turned it into a game.

But only briefly.

Clark popped in a bucket and Rodden added two in a row to put the Lions back up by 13 points, 41-28. Maher and Clark would score baskets as the Lions closed the third period with a 15-point lead, 47-32.

In the fourth, they really pulled away.

For first-year coach Tom DeBenedetto, it is all about the three H’s (Hard work, Hustle, and Heart). Running the court and playing tenacious defense is going to be the trademark of the Lions in 2003-04.

The squad will be led by captains Boland and Larnerd. While Boland is hurt, when he comes back he will display some outstanding speed and ball-handling ability. Larnerd, meanwhile, is the Lions’ presence in the paint, a strong center who can get out on the transition.

Coach DeBenedetto will also look to Dreher (has the knack of coming up with the loose ball and getting above everyone for the rebounds), Clark (a smooth athlete at the power forward, strong inside with quick hands), Giorno (all hustle and effort, strong at rebounding and setting screens), Cochrane (a versatile athlete, quick off the dribble with the ability to crash the boards), Rodden (a sharpshooter who has the ability to find the weak spots in the opposing defense), Matt Mascolo (a great shot from around the rim, he is an asset on defense), Maher (aggressive on defense with great anticipation in the press), Jason Smith (an excellent passer with great court awareness), and Dan Smith (can beat anyone off the dribble or make a no-look pass to a cutter) to make key contributions throughout the season.

Conor Martin, Ryan Golankiewicz, Tyrone Beltrop and Alex Magoulas are the team managers. They practice with the team every day and provide some depth at key positions – a job that does not go unnoticed by coach DeBenedetto.

After the Lions return to the floor on January 6 in a doubleheader at Bethel, they will host Bethel on January 8. The eighth-grade team will tip off at 3:45 pm while the seventh-grade team will tip off at 5 pm.