NHS Girls’ Basketball—

Top-Level Teams, Another Injury Haunt Hawks

By Andy Hutchison

A pretty bad night got a lot worse for the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team when Kate Bowen sustained a knee injury during the Nighthawks’ 72-38 loss to Lauralton Hall on February 6.

With senior captain Nora Lynn Shimko and freshman role player Arianna Papaj already out with wrist injuries, the Hawks became even more shorthanded as they try to make a run at a spot in the South-West Conference playoffs.

“I feel pretty confident about some of our younger players that are getting pressed into playing a lot sooner than expected,” Coach Shawn O’Brien said.

Because of the voids, Newtown has turned to Marilyn LaCroce, Jess Lynch, Abby Doski, and other new-to-varsity players for more substantial playing time than they otherwise would have seen.

The injuries have changed the game plan somewhat.

“Coming into the season I expected Kate Bowen and Nora Lynn Shimko to be two of the better perimeter shooters within the entire area,” O’Brien said.

Shimko battled back problems early on before a wrist injury sustained in mid-January sent the senior to the sidelines likely for the rest of the year. Bowen’s prognoses was not available at press time.

Newtown is coming off facing two of the toughest teams it will face all season long.

 The Hawks lost to Lauralton Hall (which improved to 13-3 overall and 10-1 in the SWC. Then, on Tuesday, Newtown lost to Kolbe Cathedral (No. 1 in the state) 72-26.

“We’re getting a taste of what it’s like,” O’Brien said of the upcoming SWC playoffs.

Hall, Kolbe, and Pomperaug (which beat Newtown by 21 points back in early January), O’Brien points out, are a few rungs on top of the competition in the SWC. His Nighthawks, the coach believes, are among the better teams behind those conference front-runners.

Newtown is 11-6 (8-4 in the SWC) and has three regular season games remaining: Friday, February 13, at home against Brookfield (7 pm), and Monday and Wednesday at Notre Dame-Fairfield and Oxford, respectively.

O’Brien believes his team will need one more win to get into the SWC playoffs. His team has already qualified for states.