By Kim J. Harmon

While the Newtown Middle School girls’ basketball team came out of the holiday break a little slow, the boys hit the court running and both secured victories over Bethel Middle School on Tuesday afternoon to improve their fortunes in the 2006-07 season.

Read on –

GIRLS

Jockey Hollow 36, Newtown 29

Brookfield 45, Newtown 28

Newtown 28, Bethel 22

Just when it looked like the game might be slipping away, Marilyn LaCroce and Christie Iorfino stepped in.

After a season-opening win over Bethel, the Lady Lions dropped their next three games and found themselves struggling early in a re-enactment with the Lady Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. Nothing seemed to be falling through the tin and early in the second quarter the ‘Cats held an 11-8 lead.

Then LaCroce canned a pair of baskets to put the Lions ahead, 12-11. But not only did the consecutive baskets lift the locals into the lead, it lit the fuse on a 14-1 run that extended through the third period and gave the Lions a 22-12 lead.

Then the Tigers rallied and pulled to within three, 25-22, with 2:35 left to play in the fourth period.

And then it was Iorfino’s turn.

The eighth-grader made a big steal and then went 3-of-4 from the foul line in the final 53 seconds to help the locals salt the game away and improve to 2-3. LaCroce finished with seven points while Iorfino contributed five along with two big steals.

Maggie Donahue also tossed in five points (and added a critical block with 1:02 left to play) as Alex Grant contributed seven points. Jenna Bonaccorso and Natalie Dunn added a bucket apiece.

One of the biggest keys in the game, though, was the defensive effort the Lions put forth right through the middle of the game. After allowing a bucket early in the second period, the locals allowed just one point – and none at all in the third period – for the next 15 minutes.

The girls needed that performance after falling 36-29 to Jockey Hollow and 45-28 to Brookfield in the first games after the holiday break.

In the loss to Jockey Hollow, Grant tossed in 12 points while Donahue added seven points, seven rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocked shots. LaCroce contributed six points, Bonaccorso and Sarah Pettinelli had two points apiece and Dunn was a major force under the basket as the locals fought to within three points inside the final two minutes.

In the loss to Brookfield, the Lions were able to trim an 11-point halftime deficit down to six by the opening of the final period, but Brookfield managed to pull away. Donahue showcased herself as an all-around threat, using an outside shot, several steals and rebounds to pull Newtown back into the game.

Dunn and Pettinelli were both strong under the glass and Kelly O’Connor played well on defense.

BOYS

Newtown 47, Jockey Hollow 44

Newtown over Brookfield

Newtown 56, Bethel 45

After a stunning loss to Rochambeau right before the holiday break, the Newtown Middle School boys’ basketball team has come back with a vengeance, posting three straight wins over Jockey Hollow, Brookfield and Bethel to improve to 4-1 overall.

In the win over Jockey Hollow, Josh Engler and Matt Datin did most of the damage by combining for 31 points and 18 rebounds. Sean Maher and Brian Reed played aggressively on defense and combined for seven steals as Oliver Powers pulled down four rebounds and blocked four shots.

Rob Frangione was a nifty sparkplug off the bench, canning seven points, as the locals frittered away a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter but hung on for the win.

In the win over Bethel, Engler canned 21 points while going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Maher chipped in eight points along with some aggressive ball handling as Datin popped in nine points.

Ishan Tatake had the hot hand off the bench, hitting 3-of-5 from three-point range to score a season-best 11 points.