Newtown Girls Place Second In Newcastle Holiday Tourney

Newtown’s sixth-grade girls’ travel basketball team went 3-1 and finished second in the Newcastle Martin Luther King Holiday Tournament this past weekend. The girls played in a thrilling final against New Fairfield, losing by the score of 26-24. 

Megan Goyda and Nikki Zaccaro were named to the All-Tournament Team. The game-by-game recap is as follows:

Newtown 22, New Fairfield 16: Newtown started the tournament off at Pace College with a victory over the eventual champions. Zaccaro and Hailey Conrad played tight defense against New Fairfield’s top player (and eventual Tourney MVP), with constant double-team pressure from Jessica Maturo and Colleen McCarthy. Goyda and Cassidy Datin controlled the boards with key rebounds.

Newtown 37, St. Marys 23: Newtown struggled early, but went on an 11-0 run starting late in the second to put the game away. Goyda played big in the paint, scoring 14 points and pulling down 8 boards.  Conrad added 10 points and 6 steals. Olyvia Shaw and Meghan Doyle scored 4 points apiece, while Datin and Shaw each grabbed 5 rebounds.

Newtown 35, Shrub Oak 16: Newtown’s pressure defense was too much for this first-year team.  Goyda recorded her second double-double of the year, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jillian Pieretti, Zaccaro, Shaw, and Conrad each scored 4 points, and McCarthy added 3. Conrad had 6 boards, Zaccaro 5, and Kamdynn Moroney and Pieretti 4 apiece. Shaw, Goyda, and Zaccaro each had 4 steals.

New Fairfield 26, Newtown 24 (Championship): Newtown jumped out to a five-point lead early in the first quarter as its double-team defense forced New Fairfield into several turnovers. However, New Fairfield’s players adjusted and came back to take a two point lead at the half. They stretched the lead to six midway through the fourth, but a furious rally by Newtown closed the gap to two with under a minute remaining. Newtown had a couple of opportunities to tie it up, but could not get the equalizer. Goyda had a monster performance, with 12 points and 14 rebounds (many off the offensive glass).  Doyle had 3 points, and Pieretti, Conrad, and Moroney each added a basket. Shaw pulled down 8 rebounds, and Zaccaro, Pieretti, Conrad, and Maturo each had 3 steals.

The Newtown girls also played in a pair of recent league games as follows:

Norwalk 40, Newtown 35: Newtown found itself in a 17-6 hole early in the second quarter, but fought all the way back to tie the game at 29 late in the third. Norwalk benefited from three 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Conrad led with 8 points, and Goyda had 6. Datin, McCarthy, and Zaccaro each contributed 5 points. Moroney had a good game on the boards, battling a very large Norwalk squad.

Darien 34, Newtown 28: Playing their third game of the day, Newtown was up four at the half against the league’s top team and tied after three quarters, but faded in the fourth as the team tired. Goyda had 14 points and Doyle scored 6. Goyda had 7 boards and Conrad 6. Shaw, Doyle, Zaccaro, Conrad, Pieretti, and Maturo had at least 2 steals apiece.