Newtown Girls Clinch SWC Spot, Prep For First Round

By Andy Hutchison

Senior Day is always supposed to be a memorable one for soon-to-graduate athletes. For members of the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team, Senior Day was one they won’t soon forget about — for a variety of reasons.

The Nighthawks pulled out a 49-46 win over Immaculate in a game chock full of lead changes and momentum swings. With the win, Newtown (which improved to 10-8 overall and 8-4 in the SWC) clinched a South-West Conference playoff spot and Immaculate (which fell to 6-6 in SWC play) was knocked out of SWC tourney contention. The game also marked the debut of Newtown resident and Immaculate sophomore Sara Daly on the NHS court (see related story on page B-3).

The game was entertaining throughout and played out like a roller coaster ride. Immaculate overcame a 19-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead before Newtown came up with some clutch baskets and the teams went back and forth throughout the fourth quarter.

“It was like four different games wrapped into one,” Newtown Coach Shawn O’Brien said.

Immaculate held a 7-6 advantage after one hard-fought defensively-dominated first quarter. Newtown went on a 12-0 run for an 18-7 advantage and Immaculate’s first points of the second quarter came at the free throw line with less than three minutes to play before halftime. Daly hit the visitor’s lone second quarter field goal — a three-pointer — with one minute left in the half as Newtown carried a 23-13 lead into the break. Sophomore Kate Bowen hit back-to-back long range shots late in the opening half, one from behind the three-point line. At the start of the second half, the Nighthawks picked up where they left off, going on a 13-4 run to build a 36-17 cushion by the midpoint of the third. Immaculate, though, went on a 14-2 run that started late in the third and spilled over into the fourth

quarter. Daly sank a three-pointer to cap that run. Suddenly, Newtown’s lead was slashed to seven at 38-31 with less than six minutes to play in the game.

Katie Condon sank a three-pointer to give Newtown a double-digit lead once again, but Immaculate kept scratching and clawing and finally took its first lead of the half at 42-41 with two minutes remaining on the scoreboard clock. With Immaculate up 44-42, Newtown junior Nora Lynn Shimko hit a three-pointer to give Newtown the lead with just 1:27 left. “I was wide open and it felt good to make it,” Shimko said.

The lead was short lived, however, as Daly came up with a steal and, after being fouled, hit a pair of

free throws for a 46-45 Immaculate advantage with 1:01 remaining. Newtown senior Morgan Knees answered with a put-back of her own miss for a 47-46 Nighthawks’ lead with 48 seconds left. Daly drove to the hoop but her potential lead-changing lay-up rimmed out. Immaculate was forced to foul and put the Hawks on the line. Junior Jordyn Good and sophomore Kate Bowen, who came up with a couple of big rebounds late in the game, each hit one of two free throws in the waning seconds for the 49-46 advantage. Daly was guarded closely and could not get off a last-second shot and Newtown escaped with the win.

“It was the most hectic game we’ve had all season,” Condon said.

“When they came back we knew we had to kick it in,” Shimko added.

Knees (18 points), Condon (7) and Katie Powers (6), the team’s seniors, were all recognized in front of

a supportive home crowd that was energized by the excitement on the floor. “It’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” O’Brien said.

“It was great. We knew we were going to have to work hard and we deserved a good win on Senior Day,” added Knees, who led the way with 18 points.

In their next game, Monday at Lauralton Hall, the Nighthawks went on the road and put in a strong showing but came up short, 46-38.

Newtown led 36-35 with about three minutes to play but was outscored 11-2 down the stretch. Despite the loss, O’Brien was thrilled that his team nearly pulled off the upset. Lauralton Hall, which is 18-1, defeated Newtown by 30 points in mid-December and this is the latest example of how far the Nighthawks have come since the team started the season 0-5.

“It was definitely one of our better performances of the season considering who our opponent was,” O’Brien said.

“Our team has such incredible chemistry and we’ve improved so much,” Condon said.

Shimko guarded Lauralton standout Molly Yardley and held her to seven points, eight below her season average. Shimko added eight points and did Condon. Sara Kelly had 10 points to lead the Nighthawks.

The Hawks headed into Wednesday’s regular season finale against Notre Dame-Fairfield in contention for the SWC tourney’s fifth, sixth, or seventh spots pending the results of both their game and other end-of-season action. The Hawks likely will have a rematch with one of their final two opponents, Lauralton Hall or ND in the tourney’s opening round this weekend, O’Brien said.